Dept registers 80 new NGV-buses

The Department of Land Transport (DLT) has registered 80 new buses powered by natural gas (NGV) that have been imported to replace the old fuel-powered buses of the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA).

Out of the 291 NGV-buses delivered to the BMTA by Bestlin Group, 110 buses have been checked by the DLT, said BMTA director Surachai Eamvachirasakul yesterday.

Among the vehicles that have been checked, 80 have been registered by the department.

The BMTA from last Thursday until Saturday conducted a test run on five of the NGV buses, as required under the terms of reference for the bus procurement project which says 5% of the purchased buses must be chosen randomly for the road test, he said.

The test was conducted on five routes that include both regular roads and flyovers, he said, adding representatives from Bestlin, the committee which is inspecting the procured buses, and bus engine experts from King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang were present during the tests.

Bestlin had informed the BMTA that 98 more buses were expected to arrive at Laem Chabang port today and they would be delivered to the BMTA today and tomorrow, said Mr Surachai. As for another 99 NGV buses that are still stuck at the port, Bestlin has promised the BMTA that it would seek to have them delivered to the BMTA late this month, he said.

The bus inspecting committee plans to begin holding meetings to formally discuss the results of its inspection of the delivered buses today, he said.

The committee will decide whether to approve the inspection of the delivered buses based only on the evidence submitted, he said.

Mr Surachai said that although agencies including the Customs Department suspect the buses were imported from China, no formal documents were submitted to the committee to back the suspicion.

The department has accused Super Zara Co, which is handling the imports for Bestlin, of manipulating procedures to make the buses appear as though they were manufactured in and imported from Malaysia, to reap a tax-exemption benefit based on an Asean free-trade agreement.

The buses were allegedly made in China. Super Zara Co eventually agreed to pay a 427-million-baht import tax to secure the release of 291 NGV buses impounded at Laem Chabang port following the company’s allegedly false tax declaration. The Customs Department is proceeding with its investigation into the declaration saga.