The Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) Office will resubmit the bidding conclusion for the third phase of Map Ta Phut port to the cabinet next Tuesday as it wants to reconsider the return on investment for this megaproject.
On Tuesday, the cabinet dismissed a proposal by the EEC Office and the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) to reduce the return on investment the bidder pays to the government.
The winning bid was from a consortium led by PTT and Gulf Energy Development.
The third phase of Map Ta Phut port is estimated to cost 55.4 billion baht.
Some 17 companies that picked up bid envelopes did not submit bid documents.
Bidding for the project is via a public-private partnership.
On Tuesday the cabinet instructed the two state agencies to renegotiate with the bidder, with investment returns similar to the rate proposed by the feasibility study released on Oct 31, 2018.
The bidder requested lower investment returns ceded to the government, aiming for 2.7 billion baht instead of 9.31 billion, citing higher financial costs.
The cabinet also rejected the IEAT's Map Ta Phut investment plan of 720 million baht a year for annual land reclamation, up from 516 million in the study.
Kanit Sangsubhan, secretary-general of the EEC Office, said the EEC policy committee chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will meet next Monday to discuss Map Ta Phut port before submitting a conclusion to the cabinet meeting the next day.
"Some 720 million baht will be paid to the bidder every year for 30 years, with an annual interest rate of 4.8%," said Mr Kanit.
"The terms of reference for the Map Ta Phut port project noted the interest rate stood at 2.5% per year. With the 4.8% interest rate, the IEAT's investment returns will decrease by 29% to 6.6 billion baht."
He said the EEC Office and IEAT have to work to benefit the country.
The Map Ta Phut port is one of five megaprojects under the flagship EEC scheme.
The project, located in Rayong, is expected to start construction in 2023 and begin operations in 2025.
Mr Kanit said all five infrastructure projects totalling 650 billion baht are expected to be awarded by June after being delayed for three months.
The other four megaprojects are a high-speed railway linking three airports (225 billion baht); U-tapao aviation city (290 billion); a maintenance, repair and overhaul centre (10.6 billion); and the third phase of Laem Chabang seaport (114 billion).
The five schemes are projected to propel the country's GDP, with new investment flows reaching 10% per year in the next five years from 3-4% growth now, he said.
The government hopes Thailand can escape the middle-income trap in the next 20 years.