The ongoing negotiations between the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and BTS Group Holdings Plc over proposed concession extensions for the Green Line skytrain service will likely end if the latter refuses to accept the BMA’s conditions, according to an anonymous source.
The conditions include a 65-baht fare cap throughout the line, BTS Group Holdings providing another 100 billion baht in additional shares of income to the BMA, and the company assuming 100 billion baht in assets and debts incurred during the construction of the Green Line extension, the source said.
The source said there are only 15 days left in the ongoing negotiations.
Although the House of Representatives recommended that the BMA not award a 40-year renewal of BTS Holding Group's Green Line concession, the BMA insisted that the negotiations are still on. After all, BTS Holdings Group still has yet to accept the conditions, they said.
Earlier last week, Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang said the talks with the Green Line operator were not yet final, but that it was clear that the proposed 40-year extensions for two concessions on the route were unlikely to be accepted.
One concession, for the Mo Chit-to On Nut and National Stadium to Saphan Taksin sections, is set to expire in 2029. The other concession, for the On Nut to Bearing and Saphan Taksin to Bang Wa sections, will expire in 2042.
City Hall wants the concessions to be extended so commuters will not need to switch trains along the route.
Panan Tosuwanthaworn, deputy managing director for finance of Bangkok Expressway and Metro Plc (BEM), meanwhile, said the BEM favourably views the prospect of a BMA decision to carry a new bid to find new concessionaires for the Green Line's train services.
The BEM, the operator of the Blue Line electric train system, is also interested in contending for the Green Line concessions, she said.
Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) governor Pakapong Sirikantaramas said they may also allow more than one operator to manage the Green Line services.
The maintenance costs will, however, increase if more than one company operates the same rail route, which will inevitably affect passengers who would have to pay a higher fare, he said.
He added that BTS Holdings Group has a higher chance of winning the bid for the Green Line concession, given its low operational costs.