The board of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) has approved the hiring of Bangkok Expressway and Metro (BEM) to install the electric rail system and operate the service for the Tao Pun-Bang Sue one-station missing link on the Blue Line at a cost of about 918 million baht.
MRTA governor Peerayudh Singpatanakul made the announcement after a meeting of the board held on Wednesday, adding the MRTA expects to seek cabinet approval on the decision to hire BEM some time early next month.
After that, the MRTA expects BEM to get the train operation system installed, completing all test runs and with the service to start by Aug 12, Mr Peerayudh said.
The various agencies involved are moving with some urgency to get the work done, he said.
Through negotiations, BEM agreed to lower the cost of installing the electric rail operation system from 678 million baht to 672 million baht and the cost of service operations from 52.1 million baht per year for two years to 52 million baht per year, bringing the total cost of service operations to 104 million baht for a period of two years, Mr Peerayudh said.
With other expenses and fees totaling 82.5 million baht and the inclusion of 7% value-added tax (VAT), the total amount came to roughly 918 million baht, he said.
The decision by the MRTA board will be forwarded to the Transport Ministry and the Office of the Attorney-General for consideration before it is later forwarded to the cabinet for endorsement, he said.
"This shouldn't take a long time as it really is the government's urgent policy and the prime minister has already specified the service [on the missing link] will begin on Aug 12, which means the contract needs to be signed in February," the MRTA governor said.
The MRTA expects to receive the cabinet's approval early next month and it plans to immediately sign the contract with BEM.
It also requests the company begin its work immediately, Mr Peerayudh said.
When the train service on the missing link begins, passengers will be charged an extra cost of only 2 baht, he said.
He also said the contract for operating the one-station missing link, to be awarded to BEM, comes with the condition that when the ongoing negotiations to install the operating system and service for the extended routes of the Blue Line from Hua Lamphong to Bang Khae and from Bang Sue to Tha Phra are final, the missing link contract will be merged with the new contract.