Operation and maintenance costs owed to Bangkok Mass Transit System Plc (BTSC), as the operator of the BTS skytrain, by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) are nearing 38 billion baht and may trigger further lawsuits, BTSC CEO Surapong Laoha-Unya said on Friday.
As of March 2022, debt incurred by the BMA for operation of the BTS skytrain has reached 37.14 billion baht. The sum consists of an estimated 18 billion baht for operation and maintenance, and almost 20 billion baht for electrical and mechanical installations.
BTSC previously had a lawsuit accepted by the Administrative Court involving the settlement of a 12-billion-baht debt which City Hall and its business arm Krungthep Thanakhom (KT) incurred with the company for its operation of the Green Line extensions and other related expenses since April 2017.
Both parties in the lawsuit were to submit relevant documentation to the court this week, but the BMA and KT requested an extension.
Mr Surapong said his organisation is now poised to file another lawsuit to account for the over 20-billion-baht in added debt.
The BMA has also yet to settle 55 billion baht originally owed by State Railway of Thailand to BTSC for civil engineering costs related to the Bearing-Samut Prakan and Mo Chit-Khu Kot extensions. Interest from this sum has grown to approximately 10 billion baht.