BEM quotation beats ITD in bid to operate and build Orange Line
Bangkok Expressway and Metro (BEM) has offered higher benefits and the lowest price of the two remaining bidders for the Orange Line mass transit project, it was disclosed on Thursday.
BEM quoted 78.2 billion baht compared to 102.6 billion baht by Italian-Thai Development Group (ITD).
The quoted prices and construction costs would be subsidised by the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA).
The MRTA on Wednesday opened the sealed envelopes containing proposals regarding investments and benefits offered by the bidders.
Bidding for the Orange Line project is going ahead despite an ongoing legal battle involving Skytrain operator Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTSC) and the MRTA, which had cancelled the first round of bidding.
BTSC had participated in the first round but opted out of the second round of bidding.
BTSC filed a lawsuit against the cancellation of the first round of bidding and won the case. It also filed a lawsuit against the second round, but the Administrative Court has yet to make a ruling. The court recently rejected BTSC’s request for an injunction to suspend the second round.
The 35.9km-long Orange Line is divided into eastern and western sections. Construction of the 22.5km-long eastern section from Thailand Cultural Centre to Minburi, with 10 underground stations and seven elevated stations, is 90 per cent complete.
The western section stretches from Thailand Cultural Centre to Bang Khunnon – a length of 13.4km, with 11 underground stations.
The bid winner would be required to sign a private-public partnership contract to operate the entire route after building the western section.
