Bangkok Council sets up a committee to settle BTS Green Line debt
The Bangkok Council has agreed to set up an extraordinary committee for considering the draft regulation of additional expenditure for fiscal year 2024 to settle the debt on the BTS Green Line.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said on Wednesday that this move came after the city council accepted the draft regulation for consideration with 46 supporting and one abstention.
He said the committee consists of 23 members, and has been tasked to complete the consideration by March 8.
Earlier, city councillors had given the green light to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to pay a debt of 23.48 billion baht owed to Bangkok Mass Transit System Plc (BTSC) for installation of the Green Line extensions.
The Bangkok Council voted 44:0 with one abstention to approve payment to the BTS Skytrain operator for installing electrical and mechanical systems on second-stage Green Line extensions from Bearing to Kheha and from Mo Chit to Saphan Mai and Khu Khot stations. Five of the councillors representing Bangkok’s 50 districts were absent from the meeting.
Once the payment is made, the BMA would have total rights and ownership of the Green Line extensions, making it easier for City Hall to protect the interests of passengers who make about 280,000 trips daily on the extensions.
