Asia Era One does not benefit from new airport link contract: Suriya
Transport minister says new version includes bank guarantees from concessionaire to protect the government in case project is abandoned
The contract for the high-speed rail link between the three airports was not amended to benefit the concessionaire, Asia Era One, the transport minister said on Tuesday.
Transport Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit, who is also deputy PM said the contract between the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) and Asia Era One, which is an affiliate of Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group), had to be amended because both parties violated the contract.
Suriya explained that the contract had been breached because the SRT could not deliver land for the project in time, while the concessionaire could not start certain operations as required by the contract.
“So both parties breached the contract,” Suriya said.
The 224-billion-baht railway project will link Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang and U-Tapao international airports and form a high-speed connection between Bangkok and the EEC areas.
Suriya said the initial contract required Asia Era One to finish the construction and wait 10 years for the government to pay for the construction.
However, the new contract will require Asia Era One to deposit bank guarantees for the construction cost of different parts of the project, he said. This way, he added, if the concessionaire abandons the project, then the government will seize the guarantee sum and use it to hire a new contractor.
He said the Office of the Attorney-General has scrutinised the amended contract and it is now ready for Cabinet deliberation.
