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Suvarnabhumi airport railway construction deadline to be decided this week

Tuesday, August 21st, 2007

The State Railway is expected to decide this week how long the construction deadline of the Suvarnabhumi airport railway project should be extended.
State Railway of Thailand deputy governor Nakhon Chantarasorn said the committee responsible for the project was examining conditions of the deadline extension for the consortium led by Sino-Thai Engineering & Construction Plc (Stecon).

An State Railway of Thailand source said it had been expected the service would start running before December next year. To achieve this, the construction deadline should be extended from Nov 5 this year by 356 days and the contractor must work around the clock.

The State Railway of Thailand wanted the contractor to bear any additional cost and would retain the right to terminate the contract if it was breached during the extension.

The State Railway of Thailand expected to make a decision this week, the source said.

One condition under consideration is a May cabinet resolution that ordered state agencies to extend by 180 days the completion dates of construction projects affected by floods.

Mr Nakhon said the Airport Rail Link was eligible for the 180-day extension because its route goes through Lat Krabang district, which was flooded.

The committee would decide if the 180-day extension should be added to or included in the contract extension.

If it was added, the State Railway of Thailand would face a higher interest burden on loans for the project, Mr Nakhon said.

The source said the 180-day flood grace period could be included in the 356-day extension because floods had occurred during the period the State Railway of Thailand had been unable, for other reasons, to hand over the land to the contractor.

The State Railway of Thailand and the Stecon consortium signed the Airport Rail Link contract on Jan 20, 2005. It required the railway to be completed in 990 days, which falls on Nov 5. But the State Railway of Thailand delayed delivery of the land to the contractor, leading to the deadline extension which is under negotiation.

The new railway, estimated to cost 26 Billion Baht, will offer public transport service between the inner city and Suvarnabhumi airport. An express trip will take 15 minutes and a regular commuter trip 30 minutes. (Bkk Post)



Airport Rail Link from Makkasan to Suvarnabhumi is way behind schedule

Friday, June 15th, 2007

The multibillion-baht Airport Rail Link from Makkasan to Suvarnabhumi is way behind schedule and over budget.

Last week experts met to thrash out how it can be saved before banks pull their support.

State Railway of Thailand (SRT) deputy governor Nakorn Chanthasorn said the situation was critical.

“Originally, we were supposed to pay for the link after it was completed. The previous Cabinet resolved that we would pay up 990 days after work commenced,” he said.

“This means the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) needs to find as much as 22.6 billion Baht within the next few months. We are asking for a Cabinet solution.”

The link is meant to dash passengers from the centre of the capital to the new Bangkok airport in 15 minutes. Already Shanghai has its maglev (magnetic levitation) train to Pudong, Kuala Lumpur an airport express-rail service and trains zoom travellers from Incheon International and Gimpo airports to Seoul Station.

Bangkok’s link was originally due for completion on August 7 this year. About three months of trials would be required after that.

Last week it was calculated the rail link is almost 50 per cent behind schedule.

The project’s construction work is just under 54-per-cent complete. By now it should have been 98-per-cent done.

Work on electrical and mechanical systems is more than 70-per-cent finished but should be 96 per cent along the way.

Nakorn remained unsure about how much longer it would take before completion and what that would cost. A recent compromise between the SRT and the project’s builders secured an additional 463 days for construction.

Originally, the construction was to be paid for by contractors, who would be reimbursed by the state, with interest.

The latest number-crunching session calculated the project has cost 34.5 billion Baht, including interest. That is over budget by one third.

Now that the SRT has to cough up after 990 days from the start of building, the bill is an initial 22.6 billion Baht, including 1.4 billion Baht in interest. If the bill not paid, financial institutions could stop their support and construction will stop,” Nakorn said.

One option is to stretch the loan term to require payment when building is finished. That will incur the SRT an additional 1.4 billion Baht in interest charges. Another is to refinance.

SRT board chairman Siva Saengmanee said a decision is to be due later this year.



Acting national police chief named as a new Airports of Thailand’s board member

Monday, June 4th, 2007

Airports of Thailand will today name acting national police chief Seripisuth Temiyavej as a new board member to help crack down on stubborn mafia-type gangs at Suvarnabhumi airport.

At Friday 1 June, 2007’s meeting of the Airports of Thailand board, chaired by Saprang Kalayanamitr, the issue of adding a new member would be discussed and Pol Gen Seripisuth, who is known for his tough action against criminals, would be the first choice, a Transport Ministry source said.

Gen Saprang, also assistant army chief, vowed to wipe out mafia gangs at the new Bangkok airport when he became chairman late last year, but the problem continues to mar the airport’s image.

The gangs, believed to be run by ”men in uniform”, are reportedly involved in many businesses. Rackets such as illegal limousine services and extortion of taxi drivers are said to be orchestrated by influential figures. (Bkk Post)



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