Transport Ministry To Undertake Several Bangkok Mass Transit Projects

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Transport Ministry to Undertake Several Mass Transit Projects

The Transport Minister is moving forward with a grand plan for several mass transit projects that will take place in Bangkok.

Transport Minister Sukumpol Suwanathat held a press conference after Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra visited the minster yesterday, saying that he reported the progress of each project to her.

Earlier, the ministry created a plan to improve the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority which will cover a wide range of projects, including the NGV bus procurement.

Sukumpol pointed out that the ministry is preparing to submit a plan to the National Economic and Social Development Board for consideration before presenting it to the cabinet within this month.

Under the plan, the BMTA will procure of 3,506 new NGV buses.

It has been estimated that a budget of about 13.7 billion baht will be required.

Moreover, he added that another mass-transit project plan in Bangkok is the construction of 10 mass-transit rail lines within the city and the surrounding provinces.

The plan will begin within four years.

He said the minister has already signed a contract with the company to construct the green rail line linking Bearing Station and Samut Prakan. This phase of the project is expected to require around 14 billion baht.

As of now, the minister is considering to add two more rail lines, the first being the Khae Rai-Min Buri pink line and the other is the Ladphrao-Samrong yellow line.

In the meantime, the State Railway of Thailand, or SRT, will be constructing the Nakhon Ratchasima high-speed rail project spanning a distance of 256 kilometers under a 96.8 billion baht budget.

The SRT anticipates to eventually expand the rail line to Nong Khai Province.

Sukampol also unveiled the second-phase of the Suvarnabhumi airport’s development plan with a budget of 83.5 billion baht.

The project aims to increase the airport’s capacity to support an increasing number of passengers. The plan also includes the construction of new airport runways.

Additionally, the premier also instructed related agencies to reduce transportation costs and link transportation systems together so that people will find it more cost-effective and convenient to get around the city, and to prepare for the approaching ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.

-- Tan Network 2012-01-10