Cabinet gives go-ahead to construction of MRT Orange Line

Transport Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit will preside over a contract-signing ceremony on Thursday, so construction of the long-delayed Orange Line project can finally begin.

Suriya was speaking to reporters on Tuesday after emerging from the weekly Cabinet meeting. He said the Cabinet acknowledged the draft contract between the Mass Rapid Transit Authority (MRTA) and Bangkok Expressways and Metro Plc (BEM) for the construction of the Orange Line’s western section.

The signing ceremony, scheduled to be held at 2pm on Thursday at the MRTA headquarters, will be presided over by Suriya.

The 35.9-kilometre MRT Orange Line is divided into eastern and western sections. The eastern section from the Thai Cultural Centre to Minburi is 22.5km long with 10 underground stations and seven elevated stations. Its construction has been completed.

However, the 13.4km western section with 11 underground stations, which stretches from the Thai Cultural Centre to Bang Khunnon, has been held up due to several lawsuits filed by the Bangkok Mass Transit System Plc (BTSC).

The BTSC participated in the first round of bidding, which was later cancelled by the MRTA, which changed the terms of reference to give more weight to the technical side rather than the pricing side.

The BTSC then filed malfeasance complaints against the MRTA and the bidding panel and asked the Central Administrative Court to annul the TOR for the second bidding as well as the second round’s results.

However, the last lawsuit against the MRTA was cleared last month when the Supreme Administrative Court upheld the ruling of the Central Administrative Court in favour of MRTA, saying it had the right to cancel the first bidding and amend the TOR for the sake of public interest.

The second bidding was crucial as the winner would not just build the western section but also install the electrical and control system for the entire route, as well as operate the line.

Meanwhile, Suriya said the MRTA was now ready to hand over the land for the construction of the western section.

As for the eastern section, he said that since it is completed, he will ask BEM to accelerate the installation of the operation system, so trains can start running on this section as soon as possible.

He said he would also try to convince the BEM to enter the scheme of using a flat fare of 20 baht for the entire route.

Deputy Transport Minister Surapong Piyachote, meanwhile, said the Cabinet acknowledged the draft contract between the MRTA and BEM after it was scrutinised by the Office of the Attorney-General.

He said people in Bangkok have been waiting for the Orange Line to finish for years, so the contractor will be asked to speed up the installation of the system so the eastern section can start running soon.