Happy Filling Time For Thai Vehicles In Malaysia

[george]

Happy filling time for Thai vehicles in Malaysia

Petrol pumps across Thailand's border with Malaysia are experiencing a windfall.

BANGKOK: -- Rising petrol prices in Thailand have turned many vehicles in the border town of Sungai Kolok to the Malaysian filling stations, Xinhua reports, quoting the Bangkok Post.

To get cheaper petrol, hundreds of local vehicles have flocked to join the daily queue at three stations in Kelantan state's Rantao Ranjang border district over the past few days.

The '91' and '95 octane' petrol in Malaysia are priced at 13 to 14 baht a litre against Thailand's 19-20 baht, Jeharong Useng, a motorcycle-taxi driver at the Sungai Kolok border checkpoint was quoted by the newspaper as saying Monday.

The rising price of oil has become a growing concern for people in the transport business, said Hasan Dolor, 47, another motorcycle-taxi driver.

Some transport operators are even planning to modify the size of their vehicles' petrol tanks to make them larger in order to hold more oil.

Petrol prices surged by another 60 satang per litre last Friday, raising the price of 91 octane premium from 17.39 baht a litre to 17.99 baht, and 95 octane from 18.19 baht a litre to 18.79 baht.

And the same day, an Energy Policy and Planning Office announcement indicated more hike is on the anvil.

According to the body, it was the last time the government could subsidise petrol price, and the next hike would be floated freely to correspond with actual global prices.

--Agencies 2004-06-21