The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) yesterday kicked off a campaign to seek public input on its monorail project connecting Watcharaphol Road to Rama IX Bridge.
An artist's impression of the monorail project in Bangkok. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) yesterday kicked off a campaign to seek public input on its monorail project connecting Watcharaphol Road to Rama IX Bridge. The BMA has completed the design and feasibility study of the project, but the scheme is still open to review and changes. Pattanapong Hirunard
In the first of a series of public hearings, Bangkok governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra said the BMA had completed the design and feasibility study of the project, but the scheme was still open to review and changes.
MR Sukhumbhand said the BMA would host a series of public hearings over the next few months to collect opinions from stakeholders before finalising the project in February or March.
According to the governor, the monorail system was deemed the most suitable option for the city in terms of environmental impacts and construction design.
Known as the Grey Line, the monorail scheme is part of the mass transit master plan approved by the cabinet in 2010 for Bangkok and neighbouring provinces.
Under the plan, the monorail system, which is divided into three sections, spans 40km between 38 stations. The section which is being put up for public hearings is the 16-km connection between Watcharaphol Road to Rama IX Bridge. Construction costs are estimated at 26 billion baht.
MR Sukhumbhand insisted the BMA has no plans yet to appropriate land for this section. Current project design calls for the monorail system to be built mostly on public footpaths.
He said the BMA was also considering a number of investment options and noted that construction would not have to be paid for through state funds. He declined to elaborate on the investment options but promised he would not cause a burden on future governors to see the project through.
Thaweesak Lertprapan, deputy director of BMA's Traffic and Transport Office, said the BMA would take into consideration suggestions or advice from people in communities along the planned route to gather opinions before rubber stamping the project.
He added that the environmental impact assessment report was expected to be submitted to the National Environment Board in the middle of next year.
Construction would normally take about five years, but the BMA plans to expedite it so that the monorail could become operational in 2019, Mr Thaweesak said.
He said the monorail project was designed to link with the existing BTS elevated train system and future mass transit projects, including the Mass Rapid Transit Authority's Pink Line and Red Line subway.