China Harbour wins THB7bn Laem Chabang Port contract
Contract signing for phase 3 expansion of Chonburi container port is still pending due to an appeal by rival bidder
China Harbour Engineering Co Ltd (CHEC) has won the infrastructure contract for phase 3 development of Laem Chabang Port in Chonburi province, the Port Authority of Thailand (PAT) announced on Wednesday.
PAT director-general Kriengkrai Chaisiriwongsuk said the Chinese company’s contract bid was 160 million baht lower than the project’s estimate of 7.38 billion baht (about US$200 million) to construct infrastructure, buildings, docks, roads and other facilities.
Kriengkrai said CHEC and Nawarat Patanakarn Plc (NWR) were the only two bidders to pass screening out of the four companies that initially joined the bidding process.
The contract signing is however still pending as an appeal on the bid result has been filed, he said.
PAT expects to conduct bidding for the two remaining projects of phase 3, worth over 3 billion baht, before year-end, he said.
The first project, worth 799.5 million baht, involves the construction of a railway system, while the other, valued at 2.25 billion baht, covers establishing product transport and IT systems for the port.
The authority also expected CNNC Joint Venture, winner of the land reclamation contract, to deliver the Key Date 3 area within June. After delivery, PAT will inspect the work to ensure that it meets safety standards before handing the area to GPC Joint Venture for construction of the F1 terminal.
The F1 container berth is due to be completed by November 2025 while the whole F berth area will be opened by 2026, said Kriengkrai.
The 114-billion-baht Phase 3 is being constructed under a public-private partnership, with 47% investment from PAT and 53% from the private sector. The development focuses on the F terminal with a concession period of 35 years.
Phase 3 will increase the capacity of Laem Chabang Port, a key logistics gateway in the Eastern Economic Corridor, from 11 million TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent unit of containers) to 18 million TEU per year.
