On January 29, 2019, Mr. Worawut Mala, the acting governor of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), revealed after negotiations with the CP Group and its partners that this was the first round of discussions and no conclusions were reached. The selection committee for the high-speed train project connecting the three airports—Don Mueang, Suvarnabhumi, and U-Tapao—needs to consider four main negotiation topics along with an additional 30-40 key details, which will require considerable time for review. 

 

          Currently, only over 200 pages have been reviewed. On Friday, February 1, the CP Group and its partners will be invited for further negotiations from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Prior to this, there will be a preliminary meeting of the committee. It is expected that negotiations will conclude around mid-February 2019, after which the contract will be submitted to the Attorney General and then to the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) committee for approval by the Cabinet (Cabinet) within February. The signing of the contract is anticipated to take place within March 2019, as per the timeline set by the EEC committee. 

          Mr. Worawut further stated that the delay in negotiations is due to the committee needing to thoroughly review every topic. Both parties must be satisfied before finalizing the discussions, as this is a large-scale project that requires careful consideration. Additionally, the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the Missing Link-U-Tapao will be submitted to the National Environmental Board (NEB) within February.

 

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