Bangkok (The Nation/ANN) - Thailand Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra¿s government for now has derailed a plan to construct high-speed railways linking Thailand to Asean countries and China, agreed in principle by the previous government, saying it will start instead with Bangkok-Chiang Mai as the first route.
The move coincided with an official visit by Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Chen Jian to Thailand yesterday. He was scheduled to meet with a deputy transport minister, a deputy commerce minister and the prime minister.
Deputy Transport Minister Chatt Kuldiloke said after meeting with Chen that the Chinese government had asked about the progress of the Sino-Thai high-speed line from the Northeast province of Nong Khai through Bangkok and on to the South. The Nong Khai-Bangkok route is to link up with a 480-kilometre high-speed railway in Laos and be extended to the southern city of Padang Besar, for connections with Malaysia and Singapore.
According to a source, the Chinese recently sent a draft memorandum of understanding on their investment in the scheme to the Thai government after the Abhisit Vejjajiva government sent their draft to Beijing.
Chatt said he had clarified this matter with the Chinese, pointing out that the policy of the current government was to make a high-speed line between Chiang Mai and Bangkok a priority, after consulting with Virabongsa Ramangkura, chairman of the Strategic Committee for Reconstruction and Future Development.
Chatt said the Kunming-Vientiane-Nong Khai-Bangkok-Padang Besar-Malaysia-Singapore route was a cooperative project with Asean - the so-called Singapore-Kunming Railway Link. The Thai government had pointed out that it and Beijing should set up a joint working group to study the plan.
He added that Silapachai Jarukasemrattana, acting permanent secretary of the Transport Ministry, had been assigned to head the Thai government's side, while the secretary-general of China's Railways Ministry would head the Chinese side.
"We expect the working group will take about six months to complete its study," Chatt said.
However, he said the Thai government intended to start construction of a high-speed railway this year. The Transport Ministry will also set up a new operational unit to take care of the project. Civil-engineering work will most likely be divided into many contracts in a bid to get the project completed faster. "The construction period is expected to be four years," Chatt said.
He said he did not agree with the current MoU framework, proposing that each government commit to equal 15-per-cent stakes in the project, while the remaining 70 per cent is covered by loans.
"Thailand considers that is has no obligation with China in terms of government-to-government agreement on the high-speed-railway project, as the two nations have not signed any such agreement."
He added that further progress on the project would await the proposal of the new working group.
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