On March 6, 2019, Mr. Worawut Mala, Deputy Governor of the Asset Management Business Group and Acting Governor of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), revealed that the committee selecting the high-speed rail project connecting the three airports—Don Mueang, Suvarnabhumi, and U-Tapao, covering a distance of 220 km and valued at 224 billion baht—has considered envelope 4 or the additional proposal from the joint venture of Charoen Pokphand Holding Co., Ltd. (CP) and its partners.

However, during the committee meeting on February 22, it was decided not to accept proposals outside of the Request for Proposal (RFP) and which contradict the Cabinet's resolution. The SRT sent a letter inviting CP to negotiate again on whether to proceed or terminate discussions on March 5, which was postponed to March 13 as CP was not ready for negotiations. Recently, the negotiation with CP has been rescheduled to March 19 instead, due to some committee members being unavailable on March 13, making it impossible to hold the meeting.

“On March 19, there will be no further postponement of negotiations with CP unless there is a compelling reason. However, based on the current trend, I believe CP will likely proceed. On that day, the selection committee will be able to determine whether to continue the project with CP or cancel it if we cannot move forward together. The committee will follow the regulations, and if a conclusion is reached in either direction or if another group is invited for negotiations instead, I still confirm that the schedule remains as originally planned, meaning we can sign the contract within March, in accordance with the policy of Mr. Somkid Jatusripitak, Deputy Prime Minister,” Mr. Worawut stated.

 

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