The process of amending the joint investment contract for the high-speed rail project connecting 3 airports (Don Mueang, Suvarnabhumi, U-Tapao) between the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) andAsia Era One Company Limited with a groupCPis a major shareholder has officially begun after the Cabinet (Cabinet) approved a solution to the problem of the impact of COVID-19 of the high-speed rail project connecting 3 airports on October 19, 2021
For this amendment to the contract, it is possible to proceed in 2 issues:
1. The issue of payment of royalties for airport rail link management. This part is related to the guidelines.healimpact of covid
2. Issue of allowing private contractors to construct the Bang Sue-Don Mueang section to solve the problem of overlapping areas with Thai-Chinese high-speed trains This issue is not related to the impact of COVID but is a solution to the problem of two projects using overlapping construction areas. By negotiating for CP Group to build more train tracks from 2 tracks to 4 tracks for Thai-Chinese high-speed trains as well, which the state pays compensation for this part of the construction to the CP group.
source fromState Railway of Thailand (SRT) It was revealed that the amendment to the joint venture contract with the private sector on issues related to the Airport Rail Link project was a proposal from Asia Erawan Co., Ltd., which outlined the impact of the economic slowdown from the cattle epidemic. vid-19 Therefore, we would like to amend the terms and conditions of the joint investment contract for the high-speed rail linking 3 airports by submitting proposals for 3 approaches related to the Airport Raillink Project, namely:
1. Extension of the payment period for the management of the Airport Rail Link from the original payment of 10,671 million baht within October 24, 2021
2. Change of payment method for joint venture project (PIC)
3. Request for extension of project period
The source said that after the cabinet approved a solution to the problem of the impact of COVID-19 Of the high-speed rail project connecting 3 airports, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the parties on October 20, 2021 regarding the management of the Airport Rail Link Project. To ensure continuity of the train operation during the amendment of the joint investment contract and let Asia Era One Company Limited come to train on October 25, 2021
However, this amendment to the joint venture contract is scheduled to be completed within 3 months in order not to affect the start of construction of the project too much.
For the amendment of the preliminary contract, the Executive Committee of the High-Speed Rail Linking 3 Airports Project agreed to postpone the payment of the Airport Rail Link management license for 3 months and adjust the payment method for the Airport Rail Link Management License from a single installment. 10,671 million baht adjusted to split payments The first installment has been paid in proportion of 10% or 1,071 million baht.
Mr. Kanit Sangsuphan, Secretary-General of the Eastern Economic Corridor Policy Committee Revealed that the private sector, the contracting party has paid a deposit in the proportion of 10% of the total amount, which is paid to the SRT 1,067 million baht, while the rest has set up a special committee to work together in Negotiations and agreements must be completed within 3 months in order to reach the best conclusion according to the EEC committee’s policy not to affect the public. The government does not benefit and the private sector is treated fairly
Initially, there are several solutions for modifying payment conditions. One of them is a way for the private sector to be able to pay in installments. with a fixed interest rate. But at the moment it has not concluded how many installments will be granted. And how many percent of the interest rate is charged, but there are rules to be determined already
“The return that the government must receive must not be less than the NPV value, which is assumed to be the current value of 10,671 million baht, which has been transferred to the private sector to operate since October 24. Which is an entry into the operation without income because it has to wait for the new agreement to be completed first,” said Kanit.
The contracting party has requested a waiver of the payment of the right to manage the airport rail link from the original payment within October 24, 2021 in full amount of 10,671 million baht and requested to negotiate a new contract with SRT to comply with the changing context and situation.
Especially the risks arising from unforeseen problems such as the spread of COVID-19. with a lockdown announcement stop economic activity As a result, the number of passengers dropped from the expected average of 70,000 passenger trips per day. reduced to about 10,000 trips per person per day only which affects the income that will come in
“The private sector has made a letter requesting to modify the conditions. It has been approved by the Committee of the Eastern Economic Corridor (ECA) and the Council of Ministers successfully.”
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