Cabinet to be asked to review BMTA’s plan to purchase 3,183 NGV buses

[webfact]

Cabinet to be asked to review BMTA’s plan to purchase 3,183 NGV buses

 

 

BANGKOK: -- The Transport Ministry will propose the cabinet to review the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority’s project to purchase 3,183 NGV buses worth a total of 13.1 billion baht because the plan was conceived about a decade ago and endorsed by the previous administration.

 

Transport Minister Phichit Akarathit said on Thursday that the project was in need of reconsideration and readjustment to suit with the advent on new bus models and technology, the wish of bus commuters and the availability of mass transit options such as electric buses, hybrid buses and buses which use alternative fuels.

 

Also, he said the ministry would ask the cabinet to reconsideration the city bus agency’s plan to procure 200 electric buses worth about 3.3 billion baht.

 

A for the first lot of 489 NGV buses which the BMTA had already taken delivery from its supplier, Bestlin Group, Mr Phicit warned BMTA to proceed with caution and to abide by the law in connection with this bus fleet.

 

Pointing out at BMTA’s massive accumulated debt totaling over 100 billion baht plus annual operating loss of between 4-5 billion baht, the minister said that the first thing to deal with this debt problem was to “stop the bleeding” and to find out the cause or causes of loss, where they come from and who should be held accountable.

 

Full story: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/cabinet-asked-review-bmtas-plan-purchase-3183-ngv-buses/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2017-02-03

[JAG]

Are those 489 NGV buses still parked up at the Customs lot?

[wakeupplease]

lots and lots of shiny new buses but they will never go on the roads of BK, just park them in a field to keep them clean saves on maintainance

 

[ezzra]

 

The fire trucks and boat fiasco all over again, the case of the right hand no knowing

what the left is doing and money is flowing like water and everybody want

a piece of the very rich cake.....

[robblok]

Could they not have thought about this before they bought the buses, now that there is a tax problem its a good way to get out under the deal but still sounds like bad planning again. But the fact the BMTA has a debt of 100 billion and losing 4-5 billion a year is not good either It would be a good idea to really look for the reason there is such a loss. 

 

I wonder if they have checked if there were officials who got a cut from the buss deal. 

[robblok]

2 hours ago, JAG said:

Are those 489 NGV buses still parked up at the Customs lot?

 

For a small part the tax is paid believe 90 or so are released. There still is a lot of tax to be paid on hem

[hansnl]

My idea about all this made in China/ not made in China thing is the feeling this is the standard way of doing business in and with China.

 

[Lupatria]

Someone probably discovered how many Chinese submarines and tanks they could for 13,1 billion baht.

[wirat69]

4 hours ago, JAG said:

Are those 489 NGV buses still parked up at the Customs lot?

No. I posted weeks ago that they were on the road in Chonburi. Later I posted that they were at Land Transport in Chatuchak 

[Searat7]

I hope that next time they buy directly from manufacturer...no need for a Thai middle man which just increases cost and probability of corruption 

[Srikcir]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

review the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority’s project to purchase 3,183 NGV buses

Alternative history?

 

The already delivered 489 NGV buses were part of BMTA's originally planned 3,183 bus procurement as of September 2015.

However, because BMTA had decided that electric buses will make up a portion of the new buses to be purchased, the BMTA was looking to make a one million baht improvement to each of its 672 existing buses so they will be ready for service.

http://nwnt.prd.go.th/CenterWeb/NewsEN/NewsDetail?NT01_NewsID=WNECO5809290010002

 

I believe that the cost savings for NGV bus retrofit versus NGV replacement provided for BMTA's  higher cost for 200 newly planned electric buses out of the remaining 2,511buses which leaves 2,211 NGV buses to be purchased. The new electric buses were to come from China as a direct purchase (later planned as a lease).

http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/bmta-unveils-renovated-modified-buses-can-service-another-10-years/

 

Seems BMTA has done a lot of procurement review already. But maybe the review now is more a matter of who will benefit from the remaining purchases.

[Beats56]

Why do they make a federal case a out of everything. Don't they do their homework before hand? A bunch of ninican  poops. Just waste more money.

[Destiny1990]

When will they begin to ban the old and most polluting diesel cars from Bangkok?

[elgordo38]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

abide by the law in connection with this bus fleet.

Translation: Anything goes. 

[elgordo38]

2 hours ago, hansnl said:

My idea about all this made in China/ not made in China thing is the feeling this is the standard way of doing business in and with China.

 

You do not want to twist the tigers tail to much. 

[elgordo38]

By the time they make up their mind what to do driverless buses will be all the vogue and these will be obsolete. 

[tomacht8]

2 hours ago, Lupatria said:

Someone probably discovered how many Chinese submarines and tanks they could for 13,1 billion baht.

That is surprisingly nearly the same.
1 submarine for 12 billion or 3183 ngv busses for 13 billion (before import tax).

 

[Destiny1990]

Hmmm difficult decision?

[Freed1948]

On and on it goes. Get the bloody things on the road before we all

die because of the fumes the existing buses belch us to death!!!

[ChrisY1]

10 hours ago, Searat7 said:

I hope that next time they buy directly from manufacturer...no need for a Thai middle man which just increases cost and probability of corruption 

Well.....that's why they use an agent....the buses matter not, but the "commissions" are what it's all about of course.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

And... here we go AGAIN!!!!

 

The above thread info doesn't really reflect the SO MANY times Bangkok new bus purchase proposals have gone up and down, up and down, in past years -- each time never getting any real new buses on the road in sizable numbers.

 

As for the Transport Minister saying " the first thing to deal with this debt problem was to “stop the bleeding” and to find out the cause or causes of loss, where they come from and who should be held accountable."

 

Did this guy wake up this morning and forget that he's a Thai bureaucrat living and working in Thailand?   This is Thailand, where NO ONE in government is ever held accountable for anything.