Bangkok’s public bus operator slapped with THB1.3 billion lawsuit
BMTA sued for damages stemming from allegedly defaulted payments under the purchasing and maintenance contract for 489 NGV buses
The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) is being sued by business partners for 1.3 billion baht in damages stemming from defaulted payments under the purchasing and maintenance contract for 489 NGV buses.
An executive of Scan Inter Pcl notified the Stock Exchange of Thailand on Friday that the SCN-CHO group, which comprises Scan Inter Pcl and Cho Thavee Pcl, filed a case against the BMTA at the Central Administration Court on August 15, demanding compensation of 1,301,067,390.97 baht plus interest as specified by law.
The group accused the BMTA of defaulting on payment of wages and interest under the purchasing and maintenance contract for 489 air-conditioned buses using national gas as fuel in the sixth to 10th year, signed on December 27, 2017.
The group said the late payment forced it to find additional sources of funds, thus increasing its operational costs and causing delays in delivering jobs. It notified the BMTA of the issue but did not receive any answer, it added.
In March this year, a news source said SCN-CHO had requested the contract’s annulment after it failed to acquire necessary spare parts needed to repair the 489 buses.
The fleet of buses has been in service for seven years. Without parts to perform repairs, the buses were taken off the road. This led to complaints from many passengers who were unable to find air-conditioned buses and were forced to use buses without air-conditioning in the Bangkok heat.
