rooster59 Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 New transport minister briefed on legal challenges By The Nation Saksiam New Transport Minister Saksiam Chidchob said that he had called all officers of the ministry to discuss progress on issues relating to all projects. There is no concern about litigation because their legal teams, including Thaworn Seniam, the deputy transport minister and a former prosecutor, are ready to resolve this matter. Recently, the board of the Expressway Authority of Thailand (ETA) had approved extension of the expressway concession agreement with Bangkok Expressway and Metro Plc (BEM) for 15 years in exchange for dispute settlements totally Bt59 billion from two lawsuits. EXAT is reviewing compliance with the contract conditions or laws. The review process is expected to be completed within 45 days. Meanwhile, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) will have to wait for a court decision if they have to pay damages to Hopewell Co of up to Bt1.2 billion related to the scrapping of a concession. Saksiam said he had been briefed by SRT officials about progress in the high-speed train project. The CP Group won the bid to connect three airports -- Suvarnabhumi Airport, Don Mueang airport and U-tapao Rayong-Pattaya airport. According to a recent report, progress in the project is behind schedule and this has raised massive concerns, as it may affect the legal terms of the contract as well as the Eastern Economic Corridor plan. The SRT has already taken action on the matter. Another urgent policy being pushed is making the Grab taxi service legal. The department of land transport has claimed that they had already discussed this matter. They have accelerated amendment of ministerial regulations to make the Grab taxi service legal. The department is also considering how to deal with or compensate metered taxi drivers if they launch protests. The new minister said that he had told the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (TOP) to gather all information about the operational status of 23 agencies under the ministry and evaluate the work of each agency on key performance indicators (KPI). "Every officer must finish my assignment within a month. If their performance does not reach the standard, I may have a word with their chief. The transfer of executives in non-KPI departments is the last thing I will consider. If the officers do not pass the assessment as the executives are going to retire, a transfer won’t be necessary," he said. According to the EXAT board report, the authority has two cases under prosecution. The minister wants to end a dispute between EXAT and BEM. To settle the dispute amounting to more than Bt130 billion, BEM will be allowed extension of the concession for the Second Stage Expressway (Sri Rat Expressway) and Bang Pa-in-Pakkret Expressway (Udonratthaya Special Expressway) for 15 years. BEM plans to invest in the construction and renovation of the second-stage as a double-deck expressway. The construction must pass the EIA review within two years. EXAT will extend the concession for another 15 years after implementation. Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30373309 -- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-07-21 Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa inf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesofa Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 1 hour ago, rooster59 said: New transport minister briefed on legal challenges transport legal - today's oxymoron. The missing word is obviously 'enforcement'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangkokfrog Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 Saksiam said he had been briefed by SRT officials about progress in the high-speed train project. The CP Group won the bid to connect three airports -- Suvarnabhumi Airport, Don Mueang airport and U-tapao Rayong-Pattaya airport. According to a recent report, progress in the project is behind schedule and this has raised massive concerns... Understandable, as CP does not appear to have any experience in railway construction and management. However, all is not lost. Based on the article, the Transport Ministry seems to prefer to resolve disputes by granting or extending concessions. Expect soon to see a special "7-11" carriage on all long distance trains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammieuk1 Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 Got a headache reading that but the only bit I got was a lot of money changing hands for not much work???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebell Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 He went on to add, 'we'll look at the 65 deaths a day problem sometime early next year.' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chang_paarp Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 3 hours ago, rooster59 said: EXAT is reviewing compliance with the contract conditions or laws. The review process is expected to be completed within 45 days. Meanwhile, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) will have to wait for a court decision if they have to pay damages to Hopewell Co of up to Bt1.2 billion related to the scrapping of a concession. EXAT needs to take note of the experience of SRT. Trying for decades to get out of a contract does not always go well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essox essox Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 1 hour ago, bluesofa said: transport legal - today's oxymoron. The missing word is obviously 'enforcement'. i have said before on here....THERE ARE NOT enough coppers to enforce any laws ....there are suppose to be only 250,000 for rhe whole of the country..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essox essox Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 39 minutes ago, mikebell said: He went on to add, 'we'll look at the 65 deaths a day problem sometime early next year.' so not really a problem then IS IT??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadbury Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 3 hours ago, rooster59 said: Meanwhile, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) will have to wait for a court decision if they have to pay damages to Hopewell Co of up to Bt1.2 billion related to the scrapping of a concession. Court decision??? The Supreme Court has already decided and told them to pay up plus interest. Their claim of waiting on a court decision is a blatant lie. The problem for STR is they are virtually bankrupt and have no money. Being like most state owned or majority owned institutions (Thai Airways) they are expecting the government (taxpayers) to bail them out. https://www.nationthailand.com/Corporate/30368112 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artisi Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 1 hour ago, mikebell said: He went on to add, 'we'll look at the 65 deaths a day problem sometime early next year.' Sure, no need to rush - let's wait until it really becomes a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLW Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 I would suggest him another points for his agenda:Enforce seat belts and helmetsDrug checks of bus and minivan driversThat should keep him busy for a while Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newatthis Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 5 hours ago, rooster59 said: Meanwhile, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) will have to wait for a court decision if they have to pay damages to Hopewell Co of up to Bt1.2 billion related to the scrapping of a concession. It's 12 billion + interest, isn't it? Not, 1.2 billion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Srikcir Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 17 minutes ago, newatthis said: It's 12 billion + interest, isn't it? Not, 1.2 billion SRT has been ordered to pay Bt11.88 billion plus 7.5 per cent per-annum interest dating back a total of 21 years! https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1097059-hopewell-saga-reveals-true-cost-of-political-corruption/ Using the rule of 72*, after about ten years the total amount owed is double or about Bt24 billion, after 20 years it becomes Bt48 billion if interest is compounded (interest paid on unpaid interest). * https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/what-is-the-rule-72/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Almer Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 9 hours ago, mikebell said: He went on to add, 'we'll look at the 65 deaths a day problem sometime early next year.' Wow that quick, now thats what i call progress Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLW Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 Wow that quick, now thats what i call progressProbably he is hoping until then he's no minister anymore and someone else can deal with it [emoji23] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOUTHERNSTAR Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 10 hours ago, bangkokfrog said: Saksiam said he had been briefed by SRT officials about progress in the high-speed train project. The CP Group won the bid to connect three airports -- Suvarnabhumi Airport, Don Mueang airport and U-tapao Rayong-Pattaya airport. According to a recent report, progress in the project is behind schedule and this has raised massive concerns... Understandable, as CP does not appear to have any experience in railway construction and management. However, all is not lost. Based on the article, the Transport Ministry seems to prefer to resolve disputes by granting or extending concessions. Expect soon to see a special "7-11" carriage on all long distance trains. No in this case they will get a cash payout as part payment for support during 2013/14. They already got the underground cable concession in Bkk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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