THE Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is to transfer responsibility for three rail projects with an estimated total cost of Baht 150bn ($US 4.3bn) to the Mass Rapid Transit Authority (MRTA).
The projects are the Grey Line monorail connecting Watcharapol with Thong Lor, the Silver Line light rail transit system linking Bang Na with Suvarnabhumi Airport, and the BTS Skytrain Green Line extension from Bang Wa to Taling Chan.
According to the governor of Bangkok, Mr Chadchart Sittipunt, transferring the projects to MRTA is “a better choice,” given the BMA’s many other responsibilities and the new priority given to urban transport projects by the Thai government.
Several BMA projects are also planned to provide interchange with MRTA lines currently in operation, including the Yellow and Orange lines and the Pink Line monorail which entered service on November 21.
The BMA has completed studies for the Grey and Silver lines, which are both expected to be taken forward as a public-private partnership (PPP) under a 30-year concession contract. The Green Line extension project is still in the development phase following an earlier value study.
A proposal to transfer the three Bangkok rail projects will be presented to the Commission for the Management of Road Traffic, chaired by Thailand’s prime minister. Mr Srettha Thavisin.
Following close consultation with the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Transport, approval would see the MRTA will assume full responsibility for investment planning and contract management.
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