The Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) Office is speeding up two megaprojects in the corridor -- the third phase of Map Ta Phut port and the high-speed railway linking three domestic airports -- after both projects faced delays in the negotiation process with winning bidders.
The office plans to submit a progress report on the two projects to the EEC committee, chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, to be acknowledged and approved on May 13.
Kanit Sangsubhan, secretary-general of the office, said the two infrastructure projects will start development in the second half of 2019.
"The office will call the two winning bidders to disclose their negotiations before signing contracts," he said.
The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand is the auction host for the third phase of Map Ta Phut port, worth 55.4 billion baht.
There is only one bidder, a consortium led by PTT and Gulf Energy Development.
The State Railway of Thailand is the host for high-speed railway linking three airports (225 billion baht), and the consortium led by Charoen Pokphand Group (CP) is the winning bidder.
The two projects are part of five schemes the government has planned for the area, including the U-tapao aviation city (290 billion baht); a maintenance, repair and overhaul centre with two phases (10.6 billion); and the third phase of Laem Chabang seaport (114 billion).
"All five project contracts seem to be delayed from signing by another month, from the end of May to the end of June," said Mr Kanit.
Two of the five projects are pending rulings by the Administrative Court for disputes between bidders and the EEC Office. The two projects are the third phase of Laem Chabang port and the U-tapao aviation city.
For Laem Chabang port, the NPC Consortium filed a lawsuit, while Thana Holding Joint Venture filed a lawsuit regarding U-tapao aviation city.
Mr Kanit said the office is confident the court will speed up processing of the two cases because they are important megaprojects for the corridor.
The five infrastructure projects are expected to have a combined investment value of 650 billion baht under public-private partnerships.
The government expects to spend around 200 billion baht while each winning bidder will allocate 450 billion.
The EEC is promoted as a special economic zone trying to attract new investment flows from 12 targeted industries: cars; smart electronics; affluent, medical and wellness tourism; agriculture and biotechnology; food; robotics for industry; logistics and aviation; biofuels and biochemicals; digital; medical services; defence; and education development.