The Expressway Authority of Thailand (Exat) is planning to give the Bangkok Expressway and Metro Plc (BEM) the right to operate three expressways for 30 more years, to avoid paying a court-ordered 4.3-billion-baht compensation for contractual violations.
"The [Exat] board agreed to extend BEM's concession to operate Si Rat Expressway, Section D of the expressway between Rama IX Road to Srinakarin, and the Bang Pa-in to Pak Kret Expressway for 30 years," said Exat board chairman Surong Bulakul on Wednesday.
Mr Surong said the the board will forward its decision to the cabinet for approval.
"Today, all disputes must end," he said.
"There shall be no more petitions filed with the courts."
Exat is also facing several other lawsuits filed by other concessionaires over similar contractual breaches. If found guilty, Exat could be liable to pay up to 130 billion baht in damages.
The dispute began when BEM sued Exat for contractual breaches, after the expressway authority built expressways that run parallel to the BEM-built structure.
The most cited site of dispute is the section of Exat's Don Muang Tollway between the National Memorial and Rangsit, which is claimed to have significantly reduced the revenues of Northern Bangkok Expressway Co (NECL) -- a subsidiary of the BEM.
The company was contracted to build and operate the Bang Pa-in-Pak Kret Expressway, which runs parallel to the section built by Exat.
The decision to forfeit Exat's debt for a longer concession has reportedly sparked uproar among Exat's employees.
In February this year, Exat's employees gathered and signed a petition opposing the board's plan debt-for-concession proposal, in favour of a settlement of the legal disputes through the court system.