2 new railway lines for Bangkok by 2020

BANGKOK: Thailand’s Cabinet yesterday approved construction of two railway lines, here, worth 44.16 billion baht (RM5.12 billion), part of a larger infrastructure initiative by the ruling junta as it seeks to revive the sluggish economy.

The lines are among some 20 infrastructure projects worth 1.4 trillion baht that the military government hopes to get underway before 2018.

The State Railway of Thailand was expected to open bidding for the projects next month and construction would likely start in February, said Kobsak Pootrakool, vice-minister at the Prime Minister’s Office.

The proposed 25.9km overground and underground dark red and light red lines will connect northern part of the city to its eastern suburbs and to the city centre.

It follows the approval of several rail lines in the traffic-jammed Thai capital this year.

“Once this project is completed, it will change the lives of people in Bangkok,” said Kobsak.

The two routes would take about three years to build and should be ready for passengers by 2020, said Kobsak.

Thailand’s transport minister expects large infrastructure projects to boost economic growth to 3.5 per cent this year, adding about 0.3 to 0.5 percentage point to this year’s economic growth.

Fitch Ratings said earlier this month there had been a lag in infrastructure development in Thailand since the 1997/1998 Asian financial crisis compared with neighbouring countries. Reuters