Governor defends long-term BTS deal | Bangkok Post: news

Governor defends long-term BTS deal

DSI says it will probe Pheu Thai concerns


Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra has defended the City Hall's decision to sign a long-term deal with the Bangkok Mass Transit System Plc to operate the skytrain.

He has also vowed to block the government from taking over the Green Line electric train line.

MR Sukhumbhand made the comment after the Pheu Thai Party filed a complaint with DSI director-general Tarit Pengdith yesterday.

He accused the BMA of violating the Public-Private Joint Venture Act and the Anti-Price Collusion Act by signing the contract with the BTS.

The ruling party also said the contract signing was conducted in a rush as the term of Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand would end in eight months while the present electric train concession of the company had 17 more years to go.

Under the new contract, signed on May 3, the BMA has hired BTS for 190 billion baht to run electric trains on two extended routes of the Green Line electric railway for 30 years.

The contract also allows BTS to continue its train services on the original 23km Green Line system from 2029 to 2042.

MR Sukhumbhand, of the Democrat Party, yesterday said the BMA's decision to extend BTS's services on the Green Line was not rushed but had been studied since last year and it was aimed at curbing fares.

The governor said he had heard that the government planned to transfer the Green Line railway from the BMA to the Mass Rapid Transit Authority.

The planned transfer was unfair because the skytrain project was launched by former Bangkok governor Chamlong Srimuang and later former Bangkok governor Apirak Kosayodhin had resolved to have the BMA invest in its extended routes.

"The BMA and BTS have worked it out together. When it is successful, the government just wants it," MR Sukhumbhand said.

DSI chief Tarit Pengdith said after receiving the petition from Pheu Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit that the DSI will consider whether the BMA violated the Anti-Price Collusion Act.

The DSI is responsible for suppressing price collusion in the government sector.

Keeree Kanjanapas, chairman of BTS Group Holdings Plc, the operator of Bangkok's skytrain, yesterday insisted the company had studied laws and regulations about the deal and insisted the company has done nothing wrong.

As a single operator, commuters can rest assured of connectivity and convenience, he said.

Mr Keeree insisted the contract awarded is just the operation and maintenance (O&M) contract, not any sort of concession or concession extension.

"If we have to convince private companies to invest in a new carriage, which is generally worth 200-300 million a unit, a one-year contract doesn't make commercial sense.

"You need the long-term contract for the sake of cost benefits," he said.

Deputy Bangkok governor Teerachon Manomaiphibul said BTS would receive only a return for its train services on the Green Line and would not share any loss or profit from the operations of the system.

It did not represent a public-private joint venture which would have to be scrutinised under the Public-Private Joint Venture Act.