CP and 12 other companies secured a Baht 225bn ($US 7.39bn) public-private partnership (PPP) contract to build the railway in May. Thailand’s deputy prime minister Mr Anutin Charnvirakul announced the deadline on October 3, adding that the bid was Baht 60bn less than the nearest competitor, a consortium led by mass transit operator, BTS Group.
Negotiations over the terms of the contract have been taking place with State Railway of Thailand since the award announcement.
“On October 15, CP Group should the sign contract, if they don’t they will be blacklisted by the government,” Anutin says, adding that other companies which make up the consortium, including Bangkok Metro Expressway and Metro, Italian Thai Development, CH Karnchang, and China Railway Construction, could be impacted in future government projects.
Acting governor of SRT, Mr Worawut Mala, says discussions have focused on land transfer concerns because of problems with infrastructure utilities. However, he says these problems have now been rectified and the government is ready to support the project.
Airport connector
The line will connect Suvarnabhumi International and Don Muang International airports, which are located to the east and north respectively of Bangkok, with U-Tapao Rayong Pattaya International on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand.
The plan is to connect the existing 29km Suvarnabhumi Airport rail link with Phaya Thai BTS station in central Bangkok with a new 21km line to Don Muang airport. A separate 170km line will connect Suvarnabhumi with U-Tapao.
The line is expected to offer a journey time of one hour between the capital and Rayong, and the government is aiming for delivery of the project within five years. The government is also reportedly exploring the development of a second phase from Rayong east to Chanthaburi, with a journey time of 1h 40min. The line would then continue to Trat near the Thai-Cambodian border, for a journey time of two hours.
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