Thailand’s airport rail link contract not ready for Cabinet okay yet
Amended contract for railway linking three international airports not ready for final review because it has not yet been released by State Enterprise Committee
Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit said on Monday that the amended contract for the high-speed railway linking three airports is not ready for Cabinet consideration this week.
“This is because the committee [State Enterprise Committee] has yet to carefully review the draft of the amended contract,” Suriya said.
He added that he will discuss the issue with Deputy PM and Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira, who chairs the committee, later in the day to find out when the draft will be ready.
Chula Sukmanop, secretary-general of the Eastern Economic Corridor Office (EECO), said on October 22 that the amended contract should be ready for Cabinet approval by the end of October.
The 276.5-billion-baht rail project will link Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang and U-Tapao international airports, creating a high-speed connection between Bangkok and the EEC.
Suriya, who also doubles as a deputy PM, had said earlier that the contract needed to be amended so the project could continue as both parties had failed to fulfil their roles, which delayed the construction.
The Cabinet approved the amendment of the contract on October 19, 2021, in a bid to compensate the contract for an expected drop in revenue from the railway link project due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
The pandemic also caused the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) to fail to deliver construction areas to Asia Era One as per schedule, resulting in further delays.
Suriya said the project would have no more issues, but the government would simply have to review the contract more carefully.
