Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit has denied the opposition’s allegations that the government is secretly trying to seal two “super deals” worth more than 100 billion baht with the concessionaire for the long-delayed high-speed rail project linking Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang and U-Tapao airports.
“The debater had attempted to distort facts using his own imagination to mislead the public,” said Mr Suriya.
He was responding on Tuesday to allegations made by Surachet Pravinvongvuth, a list-MP of the opposition People’s Party, during the censure debate against Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
Mr Surachet accused the Paetongtarn government of revising the contract signed with the project’s concessionaire on Oct 24, 2019, in favour of the latter at the taxpayers’ cost.
The original contract was signed in 2019 by the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) and Asia Era One, a consortium led by the Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group. A concession agreement to operate the Airport Rail Link (ARL) was part of the joint investment plan.
According to Mr Surachet, the two super deals are being brokered to favour a party he called “a giant group of transport investors”.
Under the proposed revision of the contract, the government has agreed to provide up to 159.8 billion baht to the concessionaire, potentially leaving the government with a substantial loss, he said.
Furthermore, the MP said, the government will ask the SRT to grant the concessionaire the right to utilise and develop for up to 50 years a plot of 141 rai in the Makkasan area of Bangkok and another 25 rai of SRT land in Si Racha district in Chon Buri.
Mr Suriya said those plans had not been finalised yet. He said many state agencies, including the Office of the Attorney General, are still reviewing them.
The minister also denied that he was involved in contract issues for the project linking the three airports, saying that it had been delayed for years by past governments.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, declining passenger numbers on the Airport Rail Link prompted Asia Era One to request compensation. The cabinet of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha approved the revision of the contract in 2021.
Even after the pandemic, however, little progress was made, due in large part to delays in expropriating and transferring land needed to build the rail line.
Further revisions to the contract are still being reviewed by the SRT and other agencies. It is expected that the contract could be sent to the cabinet for final approval next month, which would allow construction to finally start in May or June.
The three-airport rail line, originally scheduled to open in 2024, is now expected to begin service in 2029 or 2030.