Accumulated debt of 300bn uphill challenge for new SRT governor
Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand governor tops list of candidates to take over management of debt-ridden State Railway of Thailand
An uphill task is awaiting the new governor of the State Railway of Thailand who is scheduled to sign his four-year contract in early September.
Veeris Ammarapala, governor of the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand, is expected to be appointed to the post after getting the highest score during the vision expression round, with the SRT board of directors giving the green light to his appointment as the next SRT governor on July 25.
He will now negotiate his salary and benefits with the selection committee before his qualifications are screened by the State Enterprise Policy Office. The next steps are the endorsement of his nomination by the transport minister and final approval by the Cabinet. The process is expected to take about a month.
If appointed SRT governor, Veeris will face the difficult task of turning around the finances of the state enterprise, which has accumulated debt of over 300 billion baht and continues to operate at a loss.
That debt will rise next year as the SRT plans to borrow 18.1 billion baht for its operations in fiscal 2025 when it is projected to earn revenue of 39.856 billion baht while spending an estimated 57.956 billion baht, which includes interest payments of 6.293 billion baht.
The liquidity crunch and continued losses will make it difficult for the new SRT governor to reverse the fortunes of the state enterprise, which is 127 years old, in a short time.
Finding ways to stop the steady leakage of money and earn more income will be among the challenges the new SRT governor will face if he has any hope of clearing the SRT’s debts and boosting liquidity.
He will also need to explore how the SRT can realise its plan of raising revenue from non-core businesses by 2027.
