On August 13, 2019, at the Parliament, a meeting of the Special Committee was held to study the extension of the expressway and BTS (Bangkok Mass Transit System) concession contracts, chaired by Mr. Weerakorn Khamprakob, MP for Nakhon Sawan from the Palang Pracharath Party. The committee invited Mr. Sompong Wiangkaew, Deputy Permanent Secretary of Bangkok, representing the Bangkok Governor, as the chairman of the Green Line Electric Train Project Committee, to provide information to the committee. 

          After the meeting, Mr. Kris Potranan, spokesperson for the Special Committee, announced that the committee reached a consensus, believing that extending the BTS Green Line electric train concession would not be the correct approach because 

          1. The Green Line Electric Train Project Committee, chaired by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, was established under an order from the NCPO leader according to Article 44, which has exceptions to the Public-Private Partnership Act. This raises concerns about a lack of transparency and not following legal procedures.

          2. The representatives from the committee could not convincingly explain to the committee how extending the concession would benefit the public and the country the most, whether regarding the transfer of debts from the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) to Bangkok or setting fair fare prices after the concession extension. The committee believes these reasons do not justify providing the public with cheaper electric train fares and do not achieve the goal of Article 44, which is to create a unified electric train network.

          Mr. Yutthapong Jaratsathien, MP for Mahasarakham from the Pheu Thai Party and spokesperson for the Special Committee, stated that the committee voted against extending the BTS operation concession for another 40 years, which includes the current concession expiring in 2029 (10 years) and a new 30-year concession. This route is considered a prime asset, generating over 5 billion baht for BTS.

          Therefore, by 2029, everything must revert to government ownership, with only one operator for both underground and elevated trains. The government, through the MRTA, will manage operations, which will benefit the public more than the profits of BTS, allowing the government to use these profits to subsidize fares for the public. If left to private companies, there is no way they would reduce fares. The committee will compile the conclusions into a report to present to the Parliament before forwarding it to the government.

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