Small coalition parties question the project
PRADIT RUANGDIT & AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK
The cabinet yesterday rejected for the third time the Transport Ministry's 111-billion-baht plan for the Bangkok city bus agency to lease 6,000 natural gas-fueled air-conditioned buses for 10 years.
Government spokesman Wichienchote Sukchoterat said many ministers were opposed to the plan.
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej had decided to set up a special committee chaired by Deputy Premier Sanan Kachornprasart which will review the proposal at a meeting next Wednesday. The ministers who opposed the project would be invited to share their views.
A government source said Maj-Gen Sanan was one of those who opposed the project yesterday. He had told Mr Samak that he would have his opposition put on the record if Mr Samak forced the whole cabinet to endorse the project.
Other opponents of the project were Maj-Gen Sanan's colleagues from the Chart Thai party, Agriculture Minister Somsak Prissananantakul and Deputy Agriculture Minister Sompat Kaewpijit, and Deputy Commerce Minister Banyin Tangpaporn from the Matchimathipataya party.
They asked why the Bangkok Metropolitan Transit Authority (BMTA) did not plan to buy new buses, instead of leasing a new fleet. They also suggested the BMTA would do better to modify its existing buses to run on natural gas instead of diesel to save costs.
Transport Minister Santi Promphat insisted on the merits of the bus lease plan, saying the existing diesel fleet was not worth modifying and continuing to operate old buses would not encourage people to turn to public transport.
Deputy Transport Minister Songsak Thongsri said the BMTA had a record of running at a loss from bus purchases and maintenance costs in its 31 years of operation.
Under the lease project, the BMTA's contractor would be responsible for supplying and maintaining the 6,000 new buses.
The cabinet did approve other plans involving about 48 billion baht to rehabilitate the debt-ridden bus agency.
They included a six-billion-baht budget for an early staff retirement programme and an interest-free 3.5-billion-baht loan the BMTA will repay at 500 million baht annually.
Other plans are the BMTA's sale of its 3,535 old buses to raise its revolving fund, a two-billion-baht debt restructuring plan by the Finance Ministry and state-owned banks for BMTA staff members who owe money to the BMTA's savings cooperative, and a 35-billion-baht budget for the BMTA to repay interest on its debt.
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