CP-led consortium needs BOI certification before work on railway linking 3 airports can kick off
The Eastern Economic Corridor Office (EECO) is ready to hand land over to a CP-led consortium to build a high-speed railway from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport to U-Tapao Airport in Rayong.
Chula Sukmanop, EECO secretary-general, said the office was 100% ready to hand the construction site of the railway section linking three airports to Asia Era One Co Ltd. However, the contractor is first required to get a certificate of investment privileges from the Board of Investment (BOI).
The Suvarnabhumi-U-Tapao section is part of the Don Mueang-Suvarnabhumi-U-Tapao high-speed railway project.
Chula said the contract with the CP-led consortium Asia Era One stated that the EECO could issue a notice to proceed only after the contractor wins a BOI certificate.
An EECO source said Asia Era One had already applied for and won BOI’s approval, but was in the process of seeking a certificate.
The source added that the office is almost 100% ready to hand land for the entire route over to the contractor, but it has yet to settle the issue of overlapping area with the Sino-Thai high-speed railway project in the Bang Sue-Don Mueang section.
The government is required to renegotiate with Asia Era One and maybe even amend the contract where the overlapping land is concerned. The amended contract will have to be submitted to the new Cabinet for approval, the source added.
Also, the source said, an oil pipeline was being relocated to get the section from Phya Thai to Bang Sue ready to be handed over to the contractor.
According to the source, the construction of the high-speed railway linking the three airports will be divided into four sections:
• Suvarnabhumi-U-Tapao: Construction can begin as soon as Asia Era One receives the BOI certificate and the contract has been amended. Earlier, the State Railway of Thailand said it would amend the contract to allow Asia Era One to receive proper compensation due to a lower-than-expected number of people using the Airport Rail Link.
• Suvarnabhumi-Phya Thai section: This section is the current Airport Rail Link and is being operated and maintained by Asia Era One.
• Phya Thai-Bang Sue section: Under the process of land expropriation and relocation of infrastructure, such as water pipes. The construction of this section is expected to begin next year.
• Bang Sue-Don Mueang section: Asia Era One will build this section alongside the Sino-Thai high-speed railway project. For this, the contract will need to be amended and sent for Cabinet approval.
