20 contract signings in pipeline
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20 contract signings in pipeline

Contracts for 20 megaprojects in the Transport Ministry's infrastructure development plan are likely to be signed before the current fiscal year ends, a senior transport official says.

Speaking after a meeting following up on the megaprojects worth a combined 1.79 trillion baht, deputy permanent secretary Peerapol Thavornsuphacharoen said contract signing for all of them should be completed by September.

However, he said several megaprojects are divided into phases and are made up of small schemes.

"By September, all the 20 megaprojects will be signed. But some of them are composed of several projects, so some of those sub-projects may not be ready for signing," he said.

The cabinet in December last year approved action plans for the projects, part of the government’s urgent strategy to kick-start an ambitious development plan from 2015-22.

The megaprojects cover all types of transport systems, including railways, maritime and air transport.

Mr Peerapol said transport permanent secretary Chatchai Thipsunawee has ordered the appointment of project managers to accelerate the work and coordinate with the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning.

Project progress will be reported directly to Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith.

Chief among them are the phase 2 expansion of Suvarnabhumi airport, the Thai-Chinese joint rail development scheme, the Thai-Japanese rail development scheme, dual-track projects by the State Railway of Thailand and city mass-transit projects.

According to Mr Peerapol, the bidding process for the phase 2 expansion of Suvarnabhumi is two months behind schedule but Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) insists this is not the case.

The AoT said two projects — installation of a baggage handling system and an explosives detection system, and an automated people mover — are separate from the original contracts, taking the total contracts to seven, up from five.

The first of the seven contracts, which involves construction of the utility system, has been sent to the National Council for Peace and Order's audit committee. If approved, bidding can proceed.

He said the contract signing to build a motorway linking Pattaya with Map Ta Phut in Rayong is scheduled to proceed next week. It is one of three motorway projects.

On the Thai-Chinese 873km double-track route, he said a tenth round of meetings will take place this month in Beijing.

He said Japan is in the process of studying the possibility of a Chiang Mai-Bangkok route and is expected to submit a progress report in June.

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