The Transport Ministry has insisted the purchase of more than 3,000 natural gas-fuelled buses will be transparent.
Transport Minister Chadchat Sittipunt yesterday said he has instructed the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) to prepare the terms of reference (ToR) for the procurement of 3,183 buses based on transparency and fairness. The buses will run on natural gas for vehicles, or NGV.
Private sector and agency representatives will be invited to draft the ToR and a public hearing will be held on the project, the minister said. The bidding is expected to be called within two months.
Mr Chadchat said the median prices for non-airconditioned buses have been set at 3.8 million baht each and air-con buses at 4.5 million baht apiece.
At these prices, the total spending on the buses will be about 13 billion baht. The BMTA will try to negotiate lower prices, he said. The ToR will allow all countries to participate in the bidding.
"The ToR for the procurement of passenger buses must be transparent and can be scrutinised," Mr Chadchat said.
"If there is corruption in the project, the government's 2-trillion-baht infrastructure borrowing bill will be a total flop."
The prices of the buses must be reflected in their quality, the minister said.
The project has received cabinet approval. However, some observers said certain details of the project might be concealed as the cabinet had approved the project despite details not being known of how the budget incorporated maintenance and repair costs.
A source at the ministry said all project procedures were transparent and no details were concealed.
The ministry submitted the bus procurement project, including the BMTA rehabilitation plan, to the Finance Ministry for consideration last year.
The cabinet resolved on March 20 last year that any government agencies could seek cabinet approval for projects deemed necessary for the public good and the cabinet would consider them on a case-by-case basis.
The Transport Ministry later separated the bus plan from the rehabilitation plan and sought cabinet approval for it.