The Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) is gearing up to sign a contract for the high-speed rail and aviation city project worth over 400 billion baht next month, marking a final push for the outgoing military government. The Prime Minister urges swift completion of the aviation city bidding process, revealing that the bidding for the EEC port worth 130 billion baht is stalled due to legal disputes, and plans to present the MRO project worth 10 billion baht to the PPP board for consideration.

          On May 13, 2019, Mr. Kanit Sangsuphan, Secretary-General of the Eastern Economic Corridor Policy Committee (EEC Board), announced that the board has approved the draft contract for the high-speed rail project connecting three airports in the EEC, with a budget of 220 billion baht between the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) and Charoen Pokphand Group and its partners. This will be proposed to the Cabinet for consideration on May 28, before signing the contract on June 15, as planned. However, it is believed that the Cabinet will approve it without much difficulty as the draft contract has no issues and has reduced the project budget by 2.5 billion baht.

          Additionally, Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-o-cha has instructed to expedite the bidding process for the U-Tapao aviation city development project worth 200 billion baht to meet the contract signing deadline in June. Regarding the case where the CP Group filed a lawsuit for protection after being disqualified from submitting a proposal due to late submission beyond the TOR deadline of 3:00 PM, the selection committee adhered to the specified time, even though the proposal submission closed at 6:00 PM. Moving forward, the three private groups, including CP, will gather information to submit the first envelope, which is the qualification envelope, before scheduling the submission of the second envelope, which is the technical envelope, next week. Subsequently, at the beginning of next month, the final envelope, which is the price envelope, will be opened for submission. In the meantime, we will await the administrative court's decision on whether the disqualified parties were indeed at fault. The winner will be the one offering the highest return to the government. Once a winner is determined, the contract draft will be submitted to the EEC board and the Cabinet for consideration and signing within the timeline.

          For the bidding of the two main ports in the EEC, namely Phase 3 of Laem Chabang Port worth 84 billion baht and Map Ta Phut Port worth 47.9 billion baht, delays may occur beyond the planned timeline due to pending decisions from the administrative court, and some projects still need to be resubmitted to the Cabinet for approval to increase the investment budget. Starting with the Laem Chabang Port Phase 3 project, negotiations with the Gulf and PTT Tank consortium (Gulf Energy Development Public Company Limited and PTT Tank Terminal Company Limited) regarding budget, interest, and returns are still ongoing, with a proposal expected to be presented to the Cabinet on May 14.

          Regarding the progress of the Laem Chabang Port Phase 3 project, it is currently under the proposal from the Gulf and PTT Tank consortium, awaiting a decision from the administrative court concerning the NCP consortium, which includes Nattalin Co., Ltd., Primarin Public Company Limited, Associate Infinity Co., Ltd., and China Railway Construction Corporation Limited, who filed a lawsuit to regain the right to bid after being disqualified due to incomplete documentation. It has been confirmed that the process will continue, and a proposal will be submitted to the Cabinet for consideration in June. Meanwhile, the progress of the Map Ta Phut Port Phase 3 project still requires negotiations with the Gulf and PTT Tank consortium regarding budget, interest, and returns, with a proposal expected to be presented to the Cabinet tomorrow. As for the joint venture project for the Aircraft Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) center at U-Tapao Airport, worth 11.6 billion baht, Thai Airways is negotiating with Airbus and expects to reach a mutual agreement before presenting it to the PPP policy board on June 10.

          Mr. Worawut Mala, SRT Governor, stated that the signing of the contract depends on the readiness of two aspects: 1. The latest Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report, for which the SRT has submitted additional information and is awaiting approval from the National Environmental Board and the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP) before the contract can be signed. 2. The SRT's readiness to deliver commercial areas. Moving forward, the SRT will invite the CP Group and the construction project managers to meet to establish a Master Plan for construction and land delivery. The areas that can be delivered immediately include 100 rai in Makkasan and the Sriracha area, while an additional 50 rai in Makkasan will be gradually delivered within five years.

 

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