Another try at long-delayed airport rail project

[reader]

From Bangkok Post

The board of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) has approved a revised contract for the high-speed rail project linking three airports -- Don Mueang, Suvarnabhumi and U-Tapao -- which is scheduled for signing by June.

This amendment marks a critical step in the long-delayed project.

The final signing is expected in June, after which the SRT will issue a notice to proceed (NTP) for construction. The project is scheduled for completion within five years, with operations expected to begin by 2029.

To prevent further delays, the SRT has prioritised construction at U-Tapao airport's overlapping sections with the Sino-Thai high-speed rail project. Construction was initially planned to begin in 2021.

One of the key contract amendments was the change of the payment method for the public investment cost (PIC). Instead of paying the private partner 149.65 billion baht in instalments for 10 years after operations begin, the government will make progress-based payments, capped at 120 billion baht.

The private partner, Asia Era One, must provide additional guarantees totalling 152.16 billion baht.

In addition, the company will pay the 10.67-billion-baht investment fee for the Airport Rail Link (ARL) project in seven equal annual instalments, with the first instalment paid on the contract amendment signing date.

Another amendment is the revenue sharing adjustment. If project loan interest rates decrease significantly and Asia Era One's internal rate of return exceeds 5.52%, the SRT will have the right to claim additional revenue sharing.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2990257/srt-okays-contract-change-for-airport-link-project?tbref=hp

 

[vinapu]

8 hours ago, reader said:

The project is scheduled for completion within five years, with operations expected to begin by 2029.

 

I'm already looking for airfares to be first forum member to try it 

[Keithambrose]

1 hour ago, vinapu said:

I'm already looking for airfares to be first forum member to try it 

2029!! A joke?

[PeterRS]

The private partner is Asia Era One, a company established only in 2019. One has to wonder who is on the Board and how the company beat out other more experienced contractors in rail construction and management. Brown envelopes?

[bkkmfj2648]

3 hours ago, PeterRS said:

Asia Era One

As per Grok AI:

Asia Era One is owned and led by the Charoen Pokphand Group, with the Chearavanont family at its helm. The board likely comprises CP Group executives, such as Suphachai Chearavanont, alongside other strategic appointees, though exact names beyond this are not publicly confirmed as of now.

 

They run the many 7-Elevens found throughout the Kingdom very well.

[reader]

Two brothers, who who started their business careers in Bangkok nearly 125 years ago, hail from Swatow, China, the hometown of many of Thailand's most successful industrialists. The influence of the Swatow region is mentioned in John Burdet's Bangkok Eight.

From Wikipedia:

With some 200 business subsidiaries in mainland China, CP Group is known in China as "Zhèng Dà" (正大 - "positive" or "upright"). When China opened up its economy in 1978, the CP Group was the first foreign investor in the country and became the first foreign company registered in the special economic zone of Shenzhen, Guangdong. The company is the single largest investor in mainland China today commanding over a fifth of China's entire feed meal market.^[10] The corporate registration number was "0001." Through its extensive investments, CP Group has been credited with changing the country's dietary habits and leading China's green revolution.^[11]

Charoen Pokphand traces its beginnings back to 1921, when immigrant brothers Chia Ek Chor (謝易初) and Chia Jin Hyang (謝進賢), hailing from Swatow, China, started a seed store named Chia Tai Chung on Song Sawat Road in Bangkok's Chinatown during the reign of King Rama VI. They imported seeds and vegetables from China and exported pigs and eggs to Hong Kong, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore. The two brothers, who were virtually penniless, managed to scrape together enough capital to start their tiny seed shop.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charoen_Pokphand

[vinapu]

7 hours ago, Keithambrose said:

2029!! A joke?

yes

[vinapu]

7 hours ago, PeterRS said:

The private partner is Asia Era One, a company established only in 2019. One has to wonder who is on the Board and how the company beat out other more experienced contractors in rail construction and management. Brown envelopes?

rather brown suitcases

[Keithambrose]

20 minutes ago, vinapu said:

rather brown suitcases

Or brown containers!