Private firms will be invited to place bids, expected next month, for a new plot of land to house the inter-provincial bus terminal that will replace Mor Chit 2 station, Transport Co president Wuthichart Kalyanamitra said Monday.
Authorities say new terminals are badly needed to replace the heavily congested Mor Chit and Ekamai stations, where travellers are forced to queue on the bus lanes for lack of room in the terminal. (File photo by Tawatchai Khemgumnerd)
Mr Wuthichart said the new terminal will be built in an area that would maximise the project’s benefits.
The new terminal will serve passengers travelling between the capital and the northern and northeastern regions of the country.
Mr Wuthichart said according to an earlier study, the plot will be selected from four areas.
These are Muang Thong Thani, Don Muang inbound side, Don Muang outbound side, and the Rangsit area near Thammasat University.
The new 150-rai terminal would cost about 5 billion baht, he said.
Around 1.5 billion baht will be set aside for buying the land and the rest will be spent on construction.
According to Mr Wuthichart, the project is pending approval from the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).
Plans to relocate Mor Chit 2 station have been under way since the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), which owns the land, asked for the area back earlier this year.
The Transport Co president said the relocation plan was sent to NCPO deputy chief ACM Prajin Juntong, the council’s head of economic affairs, early last month.
If the NCPO approves the plan, bidding for the land will be announced within a week, he said.
The new terminal will then be built and completed within three years, he said.
Transport permanent secretary Soithip Traisuth reiterated Monday that the SRT needed to reclaim Mor Chit 2 station and an adjacent car park from Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) buses.
It will use the area to construct its Red Line electric train, running from Bang Sue in Bangkok to Rangsit in Pathum Thani.
The two agencies are scheduled to leave the area next year, but are unlikely to meet the deadline as approval has not yet been given, Ms Soithip said.
She believed the relocation could start in the following year instead.
According to Ms Soithip, the Transport Co uses a 73-rai plot of land for Mor Chit 2 terminal and the BMTA uses a 25-rai plot for its parking area.
The two organisations may have to move out gradually to pave the way for the Red Line construction to start, she said.
The construction of the Red Line route is due for completion in 2017.
Ms Soithip said the areas currently occupied by the Transport Co and the BMTA will be set aside for the maintenance depot and parking space for Red Line trains.
BMTA acting director Nares Boonpiem said the agency had a 89.9-million-baht budget for the relocation to be spent between 2015 and 2016.
Bidding for the new location’s design will be called in September, with the design set to be completed within six months, he said.
Bidding for construction will be announced in March next year, and is expected to be completed in one year.
“The new nine-rai parking location will have to accommodate up to 220 buses, while another 3.5 rai will be set aside for a gas station, which should be completed by 2017,” Mr Nares said.
A new location has yet to be found and this will determine the cost of the land.
Speaking about the project to buy 3,183 NGV-powered buses, the BMTA chief said the 13.1-billion-baht project is pending NCPO approval.
The agency has already sought permission from relevant state agencies and state enterprises to use the area for parking space for new NGV buses, he said.
Meanwhile, Ms Soithip said the draft plan for countrywide transport development was finalised on Sunday and will be forwarded to NCPO chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha for consideration today.
According to a Transport Ministry source, the ministry has devised an urgent plan to build dual-track railways on five routes at a cost of 116 billion baht.
They consist of Lop Buri to Pak Nam Pho in Nakhon Sawan (148km), 24 billion baht; Map Ka Bao in Saraburi to Jira Road in Nakhon Ratchasima (132km), 29 billion baht; Jira Road to Khon Kaen (185km), 26 billion baht; Nakhon Pathom to Hua Hin (165km), 20 billion baht; and Prachuap Khiri Khan to Chumphon (167km), 17 billion baht.
Meanwhile, six other dual-track railways covering 1,364km will be built later at a cost of 140 billion baht.
They comprise Hua Hin-Prachuap Khiri Khan (90km); Chumphon-Surat Thani (167km); Surat Thani-Padang Besar in Malaysia (339km); Pak Nam Pho-Den Chai in Phrae (285km); Khon Kaen-Nong Khai (174km); and Jira Road-Ubon Ratchathani (309km).
In addition, the plan recommends three new routes for 696km of dual-track railways at a cost of 120 billion baht.
They comprise Den Chai-Chiang Rai-Chiang Khong in Chiang Rai (326km); Ban Phai in Khon Kaen-Maha Sarakham-Roi Et-Mukdahan-Nakhon Phanom (347km); and Ban Pachee-Nakhon Luang in Ayutthaya (15km).
Even on a quiet day, the parking lot is jammed at the Mor Chit terminal, photographed by the drone camera on Monday. (Photo by Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)