Pheu Thai Questions 'Rushed' Skytrain Operation Contract

[webfact]

SKYTRAIN OPERATION

Pheu Thai questions 'rushed' contract

PRAPHAN JINDALERT-UDOMDEE,

JEERAPONG PRASERTPONKRANG

THE NATION

Ruling party to have DSI investigate 'questionable and illegitmate' deal

BANGKOK: -- The ruling Pheu Thai Party will today ask the Department of Special Investigation to investigate the Bt190-billion, 30-year contract that the city recently "rushed" to give to a company to continue operating the Skytrain system.

"We believe the contract for the Bangkok Mass Transit System is illegitimate," Pheu Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit said yesterday.

"We believe it violates the Public-Private Joint Venture Act and the laws governing the bidding for government projects," he said.

Legal action would be pursued against the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and its executives including Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra, he said.

Yuttapong Jarassathien, deputy Pheu Thai spokesman, said the questionable deal was awarded by Krungthep Thanakom Co (KT), the BMA's wholly owned investment arm.

"Via this contract, KT will get Bt60 million each year for the next three decades. In all, KT will reap Bt1.8 billion and it is very interesting to see that the KT chairman is Assoc Professor Prapanpong Vejjajiva, a relative of Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva," Yuttapong said.

Sukhumbhand is a member of the Democrat Party.

BTS developed the original Skytrain system and was awarded a 30-year concession for it 13 years ago. The original network, comprising the Silom and Sukhumvit lines, covers 23.5 kilometres of track and 23 stations built atop a single-column support structure.

However, the BMA developed the two Skytrain line extensions itself but recently decided to grant the 30-year operating and maintenance contract to BTS for all Skytrain routes.

"Why didn't the BMA call for a bidding?" Yuttapong asked.

The BMA seemed to be in a hurry to conclude the operating/maintenance service deal for the original Skytrain network even though BMA could wait and negotiate a deal with BTS around the time the 30-year concession expires, he said.

The BMA also had pushed for the passage of as many as six laws to facilitate the conferring of the contract to BTS via KT, he said.

Deputy PM Yongyuth Wichaidit, who is also interior minister, said he had already asked the BMA about the suspected irregularities. Although the BMA is a special administrative organisation, it is under the supervision of the Interior Ministry.

The central government has also partially paid for the construction of the Skytrain route extensions, he said.

BTS chairman Surapong Laoha-Unya sought to dismiss criticism that the price paid by BMA for 30 years of operating and maintenance services was too high.

"It's lower than the reference price calculated by many neutral agencies," he said.

Skytrain passengers would benefit from this lower priced contract because in the long run they would pay a lower fare, while the contract's long term made it easier to plan the procurement of carriages, he said.

"It takes three years to get the trains," he said.

BTS has now placed orders for five more four-car trains and will start adding a car to its 35 three-car trains late this year.

-- The Nation 2012-05-10

[zakk9]

Something spooky is going on here, and "Skytrain passengers would benefit from this lower priced contract because in the long run they would pay a lower fare, while the contract's long term made it easier to plan the procurement of carriages, he said." has already been proven untrue. Passengers using the new stations along the Bearing Extension are already paying 15 baht extra compared to other passengers. In my case, that represents a 65% increase compared to the fixed price that I used to pay, and the 15 baht extra is the same, regardless of distance travelled.

Plans for the the other extensions indicate that they are trying to pretend those will be organised as some kind of separate financial units as well, and I fear that similar extra charges will apply there too. While this obviously makes economic sense for the operator, this is not the way to run a public transport system. Seems to me that the investors have found it's time to harvest from their monopoly.

[moe666]

Something spooky is going on here, and "Skytrain passengers would benefit from this lower priced contract because in the long run they would pay a lower fare, while the contract's long term made it easier to plan the procurement of carriages, he said." has already been proven untrue. Passengers using the new stations along the Bearing Extension are already paying 15 baht extra compared to other passengers. In my case, that represents a 65% increase compared to the fixed price that I used to pay, and the 15 baht extra is the same, regardless of distance travelled.

Plans for the the other extensions indicate that they are trying to pretend those will be organised as some kind of separate financial units as well, and I fear that similar extra charges will apply there too. While this obviously makes economic sense for the operator, this is not the way to run a public transport system. Seems to me that the investors have found it's time to harvest from their monopoly.

The fare has always been based on distance from Siam. 40baht to onnut I think 20baht to nana. Your extra 15baht is just the increase for a futher distance. Move closer to your destination and pay more in rent, there are trade offs in life.

[zakk9]

Something spooky is going on here, and "Skytrain passengers would benefit from this lower priced contract because in the long run they would pay a lower fare, while the contract's long term made it easier to plan the procurement of carriages, he said." has already been proven untrue. Passengers using the new stations along the Bearing Extension are already paying 15 baht extra compared to other passengers. In my case, that represents a 65% increase compared to the fixed price that I used to pay, and the 15 baht extra is the same, regardless of distance travelled.

Plans for the the other extensions indicate that they are trying to pretend those will be organised as some kind of separate financial units as well, and I fear that similar extra charges will apply there too. While this obviously makes economic sense for the operator, this is not the way to run a public transport system. Seems to me that the investors have found it's time to harvest from their monopoly.

The fare has always been based on distance from Siam. 40baht to onnut I think 20baht to nana. Your extra 15baht is just the increase for a futher distance. Move closer to your destination and pay more in rent, there are trade offs in life.

It's not that simple. The maximum fare has always been 40 baht. Overnight, that changed to 55 baht, but only for those who travel from the new extension. The extra 15 baht also applies regardless of distance, so travelling from Bang Jak to Ekamai (3 stations) is now 35 baht. The fixed fare price for those with a Rabbit Card is 21-25 baht depending on how many trips you buy, even if you travel from Mo Chit to On Nouch. But if you use the same card to the next station, Bang Jak, even if you only go from On Nouch, 15 extra baht is automatically added (totaling 36-40 baht for one station only). That's an increase of 65%.

Edited May 10, 2012 by zakk9

[TAWP]

Sounds like PT isn't really against contracts handed out improperly or rushed, but this one was supposedly handed out to a company where someone they don't like is on the board of directors, so they decide to go to war.

[GentlemanJim]

PTP should be careful or someone may complain as to why they 'rushed' the contract for the computer tablets!

What really concerns me is that the money is for service and maintenance of BTS and we are talking about 60 M per year.... 2Mil USD. Now I am no provider of maintenance and servicing to sky trains, but that sounds like a very small amount of money to me.

[Buchholz]

Sounds like PT isn't really against contracts handed out improperly or rushed, but this one was supposedly handed out to a company where someone they don't like is on the board of directors, so they decide to go to war.

and if being "a relative of Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva" is such a horrific and automatic indictment of deplorable corruption of the worst kind, what is another relative doing as Prime Minister Yingluck's Personal Spokesman??

@ PTP

.

.

[ballpoint]

So the KT chairman is a relative of Yingluck's personal spokesman, Suranand Vejjajiva? I trust the PTP will be clamouring to have that link investigated.

^^ Beat me to it.

Edited May 10, 2012 by ballpoint

[Buchholz]

So the KT chairman is a relative of Yingluck's personal spokesman, Suranand Vejjajiva? I trust the PTP will be clamouring to have that link investigated.

Shhhhhhh....

It's a secret conspiracy involving all three leaders of the Vejjajiva "Triad" gang.

.

[Bagwan]

The solution should be the same as applied to resorts in National Parks. Dismantle the Skytrain extension.

[JohnAllan]

Something spooky is going on here, and "Skytrain passengers would benefit from this lower priced contract because in the long run they would pay a lower fare, while the contract's long term made it easier to plan the procurement of carriages, he said." has already been proven untrue. Passengers using the new stations along the Bearing Extension are already paying 15 baht extra compared to other passengers. In my case, that represents a 65% increase compared to the fixed price that I used to pay, and the 15 baht extra is the same, regardless of distance travelled.

Plans for the the other extensions indicate that they are trying to pretend those will be organised as some kind of separate financial units as well, and I fear that similar extra charges will apply there too. While this obviously makes economic sense for the operator, this is not the way to run a public transport system. Seems to me that the investors have found it's time to harvest from their monopoly.

Extra 15 Baht? I'm missing something here. I took the BTS to Bearing a couple of weeks ago, the first, and right now, the only time I have done so. But I paid, both directions, the fare I expected to pay for the number of stations.

[JohnAllan]

Sounds like PT isn't really against contracts handed out improperly or rushed, but this one was supposedly handed out to a company where someone they don't like is on the board of directors, so they decide to go to war.

and if being "a relative of Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva" is such a horrific and automatic indictment of deplorable corruption of the worst kind, what is another relative doing as Prime Minister Yingluck's Personal Spokesman??

@ PTP

.

.

Let's get this right. Yingluck is a relative of, and personal spokesperson for, the PM!

[JohnAllan]

Something spooky is going on here, and "Skytrain passengers would benefit from this lower priced contract because in the long run they would pay a lower fare, while the contract's long term made it easier to plan the procurement of carriages, he said." has already been proven untrue. Passengers using the new stations along the Bearing Extension are already paying 15 baht extra compared to other passengers. In my case, that represents a 65% increase compared to the fixed price that I used to pay, and the 15 baht extra is the same, regardless of distance travelled.

Plans for the the other extensions indicate that they are trying to pretend those will be organised as some kind of separate financial units as well, and I fear that similar extra charges will apply there too. While this obviously makes economic sense for the operator, this is not the way to run a public transport system. Seems to me that the investors have found it's time to harvest from their monopoly.

The fare has always been based on distance from Siam. 40baht to onnut I think 20baht to nana. Your extra 15baht is just the increase for a futher distance. Move closer to your destination and pay more in rent, there are trade offs in life.

It's not that simple. The maximum fare has always been 40 baht. Overnight, that changed to 55 baht, but only for those who travel from the new extension. The extra 15 baht also applies regardless of distance, so travelling from Bang Jak to Ekamai (3 stations) is now 35 baht. The fixed fare price for those with a Rabbit Card is 21-25 baht depending on how many trips you buy, even if you travel from Mo Chit to On Nouch. But if you use the same card to the next station, Bang Jak, even if you only go from On Nouch, 15 extra baht is automatically added (totaling 36-40 baht for one station only). That's an increase of 65%.

There is an AIS 15 Baht discount against stored value cards. Perhaps that's why!

[Moruya]

pure mud slinging

[JohnAllan]

Irrespective of the 'legitimacy', or otherwise, of the contract, the current BTS board does need a hard kick up its collective a . . e! The stations are designed, I'm pretty sure, for six cars. The Silom line has been running four cars for many months now - eighteen, or so? They need three years - so they claim - to see delivery of extra cars - from China, presumably - and still the far busier Sukhumvit line continues to make do with three cars.

[animatic]

Sounds very much like BTS wanted to get the contract done before the new government crony crew came in demanding a new cut in the proceeds.

Sorry guys it's a done deal, go look else where for revenue from the public coffers.

[animatic]

Irrespective of the 'legitimacy', or otherwise, of the contract, the current BTS board does need a hard kick up its collective a . . e! The stations are designed, I'm pretty sure, for six cars. The Silom line has been running four cars for many months now - eighteen, or so? They need three years - so they claim - to see delivery of extra cars - from China, presumably - and still the far busier Sukhumvit line continues to make do with three cars.

No doubt one of the main reasons there aren't enough cars, is because too much gets syphoned off by influential characters, who lack any moral character. This may well have been an attempt to cut out large chunks of graft from the project in the long term. Which explains the howling by those who think they should have gotten a big cut.

Edited May 10, 2012 by animatic

[rubl]

^ #15:

The old three-car trains have been in service since 1999. Those coming from the Silom line were supposed to help increase the Sukhumvit line trains to four-car sets like on the Silom line now. Was supposed to have happened last year. May be still problems with the signaling system, upgrades to the timing schedule, maintenance?

BTW have a look at the 2012 BBC six-part "The Tube", very interesting

[marquess]

Lets face it PTT and its former incarnation Thai Rak Thai had really been concerned about the public interest they could have helped to expand the BTS as far back as 2001 rather than doing their best to hold up its expansion, I remember Thaksin taking a helicopter ride over Bangkok and saying that he would solve the traffic problems in six months, when in fact he did his best to prolong them especially when it came to the Taksin bridge extension. PTT's gripe is that they are not personally making any money out of one of the best things in Bangkok!

[GeorgeO]

Sounds like PT isn't really against contracts handed out improperly or rushed, but this one was supposedly handed out to a company where someone they don't like is on the board of directors, so they decide to go to war.

Some irony here, the Thaksin government complaining about close relatives colluding .....

[phiphidon]

Sounds like PT isn't really against contracts handed out improperly or rushed, but this one was supposedly handed out to a company where someone they don't like is on the board of directors, so they decide to go to war.

and if being "a relative of Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva" is such a horrific and automatic indictment of deplorable corruption of the worst kind, what is another relative doing as Prime Minister Yingluck's Personal Spokesman??

@ PTP

.

.

Let's get this right. Yingluck is a relative of, and personal spokesperson for, the PM!

No, No, No. Yinglucks spokesperson is Suranand Vejjavija, who is a cousin of Abhisit Vejjavija, and despite buchholzs desperate attempt to paint him in the same light as abhisit, he is anything but, politically. Suranand was a Minister under Thaksin.

The only thing they share in common is the family name. He has consistently railed against abhisit and the democrats

For those who have any lingering doubts here is an extract from an interview with Suranand (just after the election and before he became spokesperson for Yingluck)

What about the new opposition, the Democrat Party…

…the new opposition with the old leaders? (laughs)

Well, will there be the old leaders or will there be new faces taking over, since Abhisit is now a burnt commodity?

It‘s quite a shame, but at the same Abhisit would be a liability to the Democrats for now. He‘s still very young and there‘re still ways to vindicate him – but with the 91 deaths hanging over his government, it‘s going to be hard. It‘s going to be a liability if he is still the opposition leader. The Democrats probably need a new face. But if they can‘t find one – Abhisit is still one of the strongest candidate on this side of the aisle, he has been protecting the conservatives and the establishment.

So it would be best to have a fresh new start with new faces?

Looking from Pheu Thai‘s point of view, it would be good if Abhisit stays! (laughs)

http://asiancorrespo...jjajiva-part-2/

[phiphidon]

Lets face it PTT and its former incarnation Thai Rak Thai had really been concerned about the public interest they could have helped to expand the BTS as far back as 2001 rather than doing their best to hold up its expansion, I remember Thaksin taking a helicopter ride over Bangkok and saying that he would solve the traffic problems in six months, when in fact he did his best to prolong them especially when it came to the Taksin bridge extension. PTT's gripe is that they are not personally making any money out of one of the best things in Bangkok!

And of course, you know that to be a fact?

[rubl]

Wiki:

Political problems coupled with favoritism and nepotism stalled several expansion projects over the years. The government of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was accused of stalling the Skytrain extensions in order to punish Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), which was controlled by the opposition Democrat Party, in an attempt to prevent the Democrats from gaining popularity among Bangkok residents.[citation needed]

In 2002 the cabinet amended a law in order to allow a private firm to finance the cost of operating the train system, while the government would take care of all the civil engineering work. On 18 October 2005, with no approval from the central government forthcoming, the BMA decided to complete the 2.2 km Silom Line route extension (S7 Charoen Nakhon & S8 Wongwian Yai) using its own budget. Construction began on 13 December 2005 with completion originally expected within a year, but problems with tendering for the signalling system repeatedly pushed back the schedule, with the extension finally opening on 15 May 2009. However, Saphan Taksin (originally designed to be only a temporary station), and the river crossing itself, has only one track, which has caused repeated delays during rush hour.[6]

http://en.wikipedia....ki/BTS_Skytrain

[rubl]

Plus:

2009-09-21

On Nut BTS extension up in air as outgoing BMA official fears accusations of corruption

http://thainews.prd....id=255209210061

[chuang]

The first was signed 13 years ago for a 30 years contract, still 17 years before it expires...now they signed and extended the contract for another 30 years....Rocket Science...

[marquess]

Lets face it PTT and its former incarnation Thai Rak Thai had really been concerned about the public interest they could have helped to expand the BTS as far back as 2001 rather than doing their best to hold up its expansion, I remember Thaksin taking a helicopter ride over Bangkok and saying that he would solve the traffic problems in six months, when in fact he did his best to prolong them especially when it came to the Taksin bridge extension. PTT's gripe is that they are not personally making any money out of one of the best things in Bangkok!

And of course, you know that to be a fact?

I am sure you can still find the relevant copy of the Bangkok Post in the archives re the Taksin Bridge extension when the actual residents went on a march and the beloved leader said that there was no need for the extension, as to the traffic problem being solved in 6 months that too can be found in archives. Both of these are facts, it has been well known to observers that Thai Rak Thai were frustrated when they couldn't buy a controlling interests in the BTS. Make of that what you will.

[sparebox2]

Legal action CANNOT be pursued against the Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra.

Full stop.

Edited May 10, 2012 by cdnvic
corrected improper title

[Siripon]

The election for the Bangkok governor is next January. This accusation by Pheua Thai, which will linger on for a while, is an attempt to discredit the Democrats ahead of that.

[Buchholz]

Sounds like PT isn't really against contracts handed out improperly or rushed, but this one was supposedly handed out to a company where someone they don't like is on the board of directors, so they decide to go to war.

and if being "a relative of Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva" is such a horrific and automatic indictment of deplorable corruption of the worst kind, what is another relative doing as Prime Minister Yingluck's Personal Spokesman??

@ PTP

.

.

Let's get this right. Yingluck is a relative of, and personal spokesperson for, the PM!

No, No, No. Yinglucks spokesperson is Suranand Vejjavija, who is a cousin of Abhisit Vejjavija, and despite buchholzs desperate attempt to paint him in the same light as abhisit, he is anything but, politically. Suranand was a Minister under Thaksin.

The only thing they share in common is the family name.

The same criteria that Pheu Thai Spokesman is using to assign suspicion/guilt to the other man with the same family name, KT chairman Associate Professor Prapanpong Vejjajiva.

That's my point, which you seem to have missed.

If casting aspersions on someone because of the family name, then it goes to all with the family name, otherwise.... the dreaded "double standards".

.

Edited May 10, 2012 by Buchholz

[phiphidon]

The election for the Bangkok governor is next January. This accusation by Pheua Thai, which will linger on for a while, is an attempt to discredit the Democrats ahead of that.

Only Eight months to go, of course thats why they brought this up now, it makes perfect sense.........................