‘Superboard’ probes rail project options

The so-called “scrutiny superboard” will today be asked to consider four bidding process options for five double-track railway projects which have been delayed amid alleged irregularities uncovered within the State Railway of Thailand (SRT).

The options, which suggest different bidding procedures, were resolved by the SRT board during its meeting on Wednesday after the SRT was earlier told by the superboard, led by former Bank of Thailand governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul, to revise the terms of reference (ToR) of the projects to ensure transparency.

Calling the options a “framework”, acting SRT governor Anon Luangboriboon said each framework will lead to different bidding periods ranging from four and a half months to eight months before the agency signs contracts with constructors.

One reason is, in some options, the SRT needs to ask the cabinet for approval again, he said.

Mr Anon, deputy chief of the Highways Department, has been assigned to oversee the SRT after Prime Minister Prayut Chano-cha exercised the powerful Section 44 under the interim charter to remove SRT governor Wuthichart Kalyanamitra and the entire SRT board, following doubts over the SRT’s operations of double-track railway projects.

The Prasarn panel has been established to oversee seven dual-track projects worth a combined 129.8 billion baht.

It will pick five projects for consideration first and decide what bidding options will be most appropriate.

The original ToR for the projects has not been scrapped, Mr Anon said. It is still an alternative but its chance of being chosen is “very low”, he said.

The five projects are the 19-billion-baht Nakhon Pathom-Hua Hin section, the 23-billion-baht Lop Buri-Pak Nam Pho section, the 28-billion-bhat Map Kabao (in Sara Buri)-Thanon Chira Junction section (in Nakhon Ratchasima), the 9.8-billionbaht Hua Hin-Prachuap Khiri Khan section and the 16-billion-baht Phrachuap Khiri Khan-Chumphon section.

Two other double-track railway projects — the Thanon Chira Junction-Khon Kaen section and the Chachoengsao-Kaeng Khoi route — are also under close monitoring by the Prasarn superboard, he said.

According to Gen Prayut’s order, this panel will be responsible for supervising, expediting, following up and examining the state procurement projects from the early steps of making a procurement plan to contract expiry.