E-bidding for 2nd phase of Thai-Chinese high-speed railway to be held next year
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) will next year launch electronic bidding for 13 contacts of the second phase of the 341-billion-baht Thai-Chinese high-speed railway project.
SRT governor Nirut Maneepan said on Monday that the agency’s board of directors had approved the second phase of the high-speed railway project on April 18 and its environmental impact assessment (EIA) report will be soon submitted to the National Environment Board for approval.
Once the EIA report is approved, the project will be sent to Transport Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit to endorse and pass on to the Cabinet.
Nirut believes the project will win the Cabinet’s okay in time for e-bidding next year.
The second phase of the railway will be 357.12 kilometres long, linking the first phase in Nakhon Ratchasima to Nong Khai’s border.
So far, 341.35 billion baht has been allocated for the project, of which 235.13 billion baht will be spent on construction, 10.31 billion baht on land expropriation, 80.17 billion baht on installation of the electric system and 10.06 billion on hiring a consultancy firm to supervise and oversee the construction.
The governor said the bidding will be divided into 13 contracts, 11 of which will focus on building the railway, one for building the Chiang Rak Noi maintenance centre and one for the Natha maintenance centre.
The construction of the railway should take 48 months, while the installation of the electric and mechanical system should take 66 months. The railway system should be ready and operating by 2031, he added.
The governor said 202.48km of the railway will run on an elevated system to avoid an impact on local people.
The project will be carried out under a public-private partnership, with the concessionaire being allowed to operate the railway for 20 years, for which the SRT will receive 4.46 billion baht in concession fees, he said.
