Thai tycoon’s global consortium to bid for rail job

US$6.8bil project to link three international airports in the country

BANGKOK: Billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont’s ( pic) Charoen Pokphand Group is teaming up with companies from Asia and Europe to bid for a 225 billion-baht (US$6.8bil) high-speed rail link connecting three international airports in Thailand.

The link, one of the largest transportation projects in Thai history, is a key part of the infrastructure agenda championed by the military government that seized power in May 2014.

The winning bidder is due to be selected by January, according to the Eastern Economic Corridor Office, the agency overseeing the plan.

The consortium was prepared to submit a bid yesterday, Adiruth Thothaveesansuk, the vice chairman of Charoen Pokphand Group’s special projects development office, said in a statement released on Sunday.

The rail link would run between Bangkok’s two international airports and another near the tourist hot-spot of Pattaya, the U-Tapao International Airport in Rayong province.

The project is linked to the Eastern Economic Corridor initiative, a 1.7 trillion-baht plan to add infrastructure and advanced industries along the eastern seaboard.

Some 31 firms, mostly from Thailand, China and Japan, were studying the project’s terms, according to the Eastern Economic Corridor’s website.

Bids from interested companies due yesterday.

A consortium led by BTS Group Holdings Pcl, operator of Bangkok’s elevated metro, is also expected to compete for the contract.

“C.P. Group has emerged as a very strong contender with its partnership with both local and overseas companies,” said Adisak Phupiphathirungul, a strategist at Thanachart Securities Pcl in Bangkok.

“It’s still hard to say who is the favorite, because the BTS-led consortium studied the project for quite a long time.”

A general election is possible in Thailand in late February next year.

This has raised the question of whether the next civilian administration will adopt were the same priorities – such as a push for high-speed train connections - as the military government.

For instance, the upstart Future Forward Party led by tycoon-turned-politician Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit has recommended studying options such as Richard Branson’s Virgin Hyperloop One.

Thanathorn has said that developing such networks of pods traveling at airplane-like speeds could enable Thailand to become a technological leader.

The military government is trying to bolster investment in South-East Asia’s second-largest economy.

This is part of a push to lift the pace of economic growth closer to levels seen in neighboring nations. — Bloomberg