City Hall may lose its right to operate the BTS's southern Green Line extension from Bearing to Samut Prakan as it is unclear whether it will be able to pay back the 21 billion baht construction cost to the State Railway of Thailand (SRT).
An SRT source revealed construction of the Green Line's southern extension is already 90% complete.
The SRT, which is under the Transport Ministry, and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) are in the process of discussing a deal to allow the BMA to run the operation on the southern extension from Bearing to Samut Prakan.
However, the SRT and the BMA are unlikely to reach an agreement to transfer the right to operate the extension to the BMA, the source said.
If the BMA is given the right to operate the southern extension, it must pay 21 billion baht in construction costs, covered by the government, back to the SRT.
The source said the BMA has asked to extend the payment period, raising questions about whether the BMA has the authority to seek loans to cover the payment.
It has been announced the initial service would be launched from Bearing to Samrong in March next year, with the full service expected to start in 2018.
However, the source said the schedule could be delayed due to the complications regarding the construction cost repayment.
The source said if negotiations between the SRT and the BMA make no progress, the SRT may have to take back the right to operate the southern extension.