CP Consortium Completes the ฿225bln HSR Deal, ITD-CK Acquires ฿50bln Construction Project
CP Consortium has reached the ฿225 billion High-Speed Rail deal, aiming to sign the contract by May. ITD and CK will also acquire ฿50 billion construction project.
Mr. Worawut Mala, acting governor of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) and chairman of High-Speed Rail project (HSR) connecting three major airports selector committee, stated that the CP Consortium and SRT had finally come to an agreement for the HSR project.
CP Consortium which consisted of Charoen Pokphand Group (CP), Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited (ITD), China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC), CH. Karnchang Public Company Limited (CK), and Bangkok Express and Metro Public Company Limited (BEM) dropped twelve proposals, which were not part of the Request for Proposal, that caused the delay in announcing the official project operator.
The demand in the proposal proposed to SRT included an extension of project concession from 50 years to 99 years, obtaining a subsidy for the project from the first year, lowering the single lending limit, lowering-interest rate to 4% per year, making the government pay compensation for damages if any delays, and forbidding the SRT from engaging in competing projects.
The agreement will be submitted to Eastern Economic Corridor committee within this month while the contract signing could be done by May.
The whole project is THB 225 billion in value which included THB 50 billion budget for CK and ITD to work on the construction.