BANGKOK: CP Group has sent a letter to the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) requesting the termination of the high-speed rail contract linking three airports, citing its inability to obtain investment promotion from the Board of Investment (BOI).
The matter is expected to be submitted to the Eastern Economic Corridor Policy Committee for consideration by August.
Krungthep Turakij reported that a meeting of the SRT board on Thursday (July 9), considered an agenda item on ways to resolve problems surrounding the high-speed rail project linking the three airports.
The project is a public-private partnership between the SRT and Asia Era One Co Ltd, in which CP Group is the major shareholder.
Efforts to amend the joint investment contract began in 2021, after the Cabinet approved the principle of contract amendments on Oct 19, 2021, to mitigate the impact of Covid-19.
The matter then entered negotiations between the contracting parties, but no conclusion had been reached despite passing through several governments.
Anan Phonimdaeng, governor of the State Railway of Thailand, said after the SRT board meeting that CP had sent a letter to the SRT requesting the termination of the joint investment contract for the three-airport high-speed rail project.
The company cited its inability to apply for and obtain an investment promotion certificate from the BOI, as well as its inability to issue the notice to proceed, or NTP, for construction work.
For the next step, the SRT will submit the matter to the Eastern Economic Corridor Policy Committee for consideration by August 2026.
A news report said the Eastern Economic Corridor Office (EECO) had scheduled a meeting of the joint investment contract management committee for July 15, 2026.
The meeting is expected to summarise the proposed mutual termination of the contract among EECO, the SRT and CP before the matter is submitted to the Eastern Economic Corridor Policy Committee.
Anan also said that a key issue, if the joint investment contract with Asia Era One Co Ltd is terminated, would be negotiations over the management of the Airport Rail Link, as the contract and its operations are interconnected.
If the main contract ends, the private operator’s right to manage train operations would also end. The current train-operation contract is due to expire on Sept 30.
However, the SRT is preparing contingency plans to prevent any impact on passengers.
It may need to negotiate with the private operator to find an appropriate approach to ensure train services are not affected.
Whether this would involve hiring the private operator to continue managing the service for a certain period cannot yet be confirmed, as the legal details still need to be reviewed.
As for Asia Era One Co Ltd’s investment, which the company says has already been made, and whether compensation would be required if the joint investment contract is terminated, the SRT is initially reviewing the exact figures together with its finance division.
Preliminary findings show that expenses and revenue would have to be offset against each other, including interest. Therefore, a final conclusion on the exact figures is still pending. - The Nation/ANN
