City Hall on Saturday defended its plan to expropriate land in Chatuchak district to make way for a planned flyover that would give buses a better connection to the nearby Don Muang tollway.
The proposed flyover would connect the old Mor Chit Bus Terminal with Vibhavadi Rangsit Road to allow buses from the terminal to head directly to the tollway.
A plan has also been tabled to revive the old Mor Chit bus terminal, which is now an electric train depot, and turn it into a so-called Inter-Model Terminal.
If and when the plan materialises, traffic around the area will be heavily congested and the flyover will help divert buses from the terminal to the tollway, said Chiradet Karunkrittakun, deputy director of Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's (BMA) Department of Public Works.
The Inter-Model Terminal would require an efficient traffic management system, said Mr Chiradet, adding that construction of the flyover would require expropriating land but those affected would be fairly compensated.
The BMA, as the agency responsible for implementing the flyover project, has discussed the project with other agencies and organisations concerned, including the government's committee on land transport system management, Treasury Department, Department of Land Transport, and Transport Co, he said.
The BMA is surveying land to be expropriated in the Chom Phon sub-district of Chatuchak and it is due to be completed by Jan 22.
The royal decree was initiated by the BMA and representatives of the government's committee on land transport system management, Treasury Department, Department of Land Transport and Transport Company.
The Inter-Model Terminal project will comprise two main parts, an electric train parking and maintenance depot and a new inter-province bus terminal.
A similar scheme is also being studied by the state-owned Transport Company.
The agency is looking to develop its 7.3 rai of land at the Ekamai bus terminal on Sukhumvit Road into a 12.5-billion-baht mixed-use complex project called The Portal.
The Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning has recently announced that the project still lacks an environmental impact assessment (EIA) report.