Jump to content

Bankruptcy warning for Sino-Thai high-speed rail project


snoop1130

Recommended Posts

Bankruptcy warning for Sino-Thai high-speed rail project

By PRATCH RUJIVANAROM
THE NATION

 

e73564e91b7d3f7a00cd24b61092dd2e.jpeg

 

Academics have cautioned that the Sino-Thai high-speed train project could end in bankruptcy and fail to develop sought-after technology in Thailand.

 

Chulalongkorn University on Thursday held an academic forum on the controversial Thai-Chinese partnership, with many academics saying they believed that the government had not completely considered all aspects of the mammoth project. 

 

Sompong Sirisoponsilp, former director of the Transportation Institute at Chulalongkorn University, said the government had not thoroughly considered the project, which will result in a total economic failure and a loss of other benefits that the government expected.

 

The high-speed train link between Bangkok and Nongkha is in the initial phase, and is supposed to connect with Chinese high-speed trains in Laos en route to mainland China. 

 

The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) recently issued an order via Article 44 of the provisional charter to expedite the project by exempting it from many laws.

 

The project will be 100-per-cent funded by the Thai government and constructed by Chinese engineers and architects using Chinese technology.

 

Sompong said the government had neglected many important issues, such as connectivity to other transportation systems, the competitiveness of the project compared to buses or airplanes, the customer group and preparedness after the high-speed train links to China.

 

Nuannoi Trirat, an economist and director of the Institute of Asian Studies at Chulalongkorn University, said the current project in Nakhon Ratchasima was likely to end in bankruptcy as there were limited passengers and many transportation options.

 

“On the Bangkok to Nakhorn Ratchasima route, there are already three governmental projects: The high-speed train, the dual train tracks project and the new motorway,” Nuannoi said.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30318843

 
thenation_logo.jpg
-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-6-22
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 64
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Bankruptcy!??  If it goes bankrupt that means Thailand goes bankrupt.

It is not possible since the glorious leader PM Prayut has assured everyone of it's unqualified success. Money is no object to the Thai government. Even with a 390 billion baht budget deficit.

Trainloads of money is going to be made from this HS rail. Thailand is much too smart for those Chinese suckers! They wouldn't have a clue if a train hit them.

So relax people PM Prayut has it all under control; just like just like he has those lewd groin thrusting dancers under control. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, snoop1130 said:

The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) recently issued an order via Article 44 of the provisional charter to expedite the project by exempting it from many laws.

The rubber stamp comes face to face with reality.  The trough known as the NCPO looks to be aiding the fabrication of a white elephant

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 minutes ago, candide said:

The Chinese did not want to take any financial risk on this project. I guess they had good reasons to do so.

The chinese do nothing but win on this project.

 

They have been given carte blanche to colonize thailand.

 

They can either break thailand, or buy thailand, and either way it will be theirs.

 

Id like to add that i grew up in a country with a railway built by Chinese, but they werent ready then and still made out remarkably well on the deal. 

 

This time they are in charge, they cannot fail.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, HooHaa said:

The chinese do nothing but win on this project.

 

They have been given carte blanche to colonize thailand.

 

They can either break thailand, or buy thailand, and either way it will be theirs.

 

Id like to add that i grew up in a country with a railway built by the chinese, but they werent ready then and still made out remarkably well on the deal. 

 

This time they are in charge, they cannot fail.

 

 

Might want to use google and find what Thai people originate from. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Bastos60 said:

Might want to use google and find what Thai people originate from. 

Sigh, then again i might not.

 

after all, thats why we have you.

 

If you have a point, make it. Ill not do the work for you.

 

But thanks for coming out

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On the Bangkok to Nakhorn Ratchasima route, there are already three governmental projects: The high-speed train, the dual train tracks project and the new motorway,” Nuannoi said.

 

And there are already many flights between nakhorn and bangkok.

 

Who are the potential customers for the high speed train?

The rice farmers?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, snoop1130 said:

The project will be 100-per-cent funded by the Thai government and constructed by Chinese engineers and architects using Chinese technology.

So, Thai money? That will likely run out before we are finished, so yes, Bankruptcy is a definite possibility.

Chinese engineers and technology? I'm not getting on it then, even if it does ever become a reality.

No users equals bankruptcy a second time, so probably an accurate article.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It all sounded such a good idea, but, someone has to pay and I cannot help but think that China might well be doing the job but they will send Thailand the bill and say "you did not understand".

 

How much debt does the region owe to China and ponder that for the future?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, nong38 said:

It all sounded such a good idea, but, someone has to pay and I cannot help but think that China might well be doing the job but they will send Thailand the bill and say "you did not understand".

 

How much debt does the region owe to China and ponder that for the future?

 

It'll be quite enjoyable to see the great liars, cheats and thieves skinned like a rabbit by better lairs, cheats and thieves. Thais learned to lie, cheat and steal from the Chinese. Now they've gotten too big for their boots. They think the apprentice can lie to, cheat and steal from the Master.

 

Good luck, this is going to be great entertainment, watching Prayuth and his co-conspirators come a humungous cropper.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, Trumpish said:

 

It'll be quite enjoyable to see the great liars, cheats and thieves skinned like a rabbit by better lairs, cheats and thieves. Thais learned to lie, cheat and steal from the Chinese. Now they've gotten too big for their boots. They think the apprentice can lie to, cheat and steal from the Master.

 

Good luck, this is going to be great entertainment, watching Prayuth and his co-conspirators come a humungous cropper.

The thing is that when it unravels the current folks will be long gone, although new ones may be waiting in the wings and someone else will have to deal with it. In the end the taxpayers will bail them out, thats the way it usually works.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, nong38 said:

The thing is that when it unravels the current folks will be long gone, although new ones may be waiting in the wings and someone else will have to deal with it. In the end the taxpayers will bail them out, thats the way it usually works.

Would make me wonder if I see that ever running, and I didn't turn 50 yet.

As long money is flowing there will be progress.

I wish the Chinese would have build motorways in my homecountry, pretty sure it wouldn't have taken 30 years for just 8 km. :sad:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Academics warn that China rail project could lead to bankruptcy
By PRATCH RUJIVANAROM
THE NATION

 

dc06c74beaa71b6580e5eeacff9467e7-sld.jpe

 

Academics severely criticise deal with China.

 

BANGKOK: -- ACADEMICS HAVE cautioned that the Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima high-speed train project could end in bankruptcy and fail to develop sought-after technology in Thailand.

 

Chulalongkorn University yesterday held an academic forum on the controversial Thai-Chinese partnership, with many academics saying they believed that the government had not completely considered all aspects of the mammoth project. 

 

Numerous concerns were raised, including the questionable economic worthiness of the project, the unclear rail infrastructure development strategy, the insufficient effort to ensure technology transfers and the transparency of the project.

 

Sompong Sirisoponsilp, former director of the Transportation Institute at Chulalongkorn University, said the government had not thoroughly considered the project, which will result in a total economic failure and a loss of other benefits that the government expected.

 

The high-speed train link between Bangkok and Nongkha is in the initial phase, and is supposed to connect with Chinese high-speed trains in Laos en route to mainland China. 

 

The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) recently issued order 30/2560 to expedite the project by exempting it from many laws.

 

The project will be 100-per-cent funded by the Thai government and constructed by Chinese engineers and architects using Chinese technology.

 

Sompong said the government had neglected many important issues, such as connectivity to other transportation systems, the competitiveness of the project compared to buses or airplanes, the customer group and preparedness after the high-speed train links to China.

 

He also said trains were normally used for transporting people not cargo, so the project would not help to transport Thai products to sell in China. 

 

As the competitiveness and economic worth of the project was also questioned, Sompong said people could travel to Kunming in China in only five hours by airplane for about Bt5,000, while the high-speed train would take seven to eight hours, which meant the train fare had to be lower than Bt5,000 in order to compete.

 

Nuannoi Trirat, an economist and director of the Institute of Asian Studies at Chulalongkorn University, said the current project in Nakhon Ratchasima was likely to end in bankruptcy as there were limited passengers and many transportation options.

 

“On the Bangkok to Nakhorn Ratchasima route, there are already three governmental projects: The high-speed train, the dual train tracks project and the new motorway,” Nuannoi said.

 

“These projects all use the country’s budget and we should prioritise those that will have the most benefits. For this route, I think the dual train tracks will be more reasonable, considering that it can serve local train passengers and is economically more useful.”

 

Sompong also warned that the government did not have strategies to develop Thailand’s own train technology, as the government had focused on industries for the “Thailand 4.0” that did not include railroads.

 

“The question is, as we invest in high-speed trains from China, will we able to build our own high-speed trains in the future? The innovation now is more important than infrastructure and if we want to have a high-speed train, we better have our own train industry,” he said.

 

“Right now we have enough demands to create the train industry, but if we wait and purchase all these things from another nation, we will lose the demand. If we cannot develop our own train industry, we will have to rely on others.”

 

He also said the technology transfer was very important and the current effort was insufficient. He suggested that the government should make technology transfer a national goal and encourage the Industry and Science and Technology ministries to be part of the project.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30318836

 
thenation_logo.jpg
-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-06-23
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Trumpish said:

 

It'll be quite enjoyable to see the great liars, cheats and thieves skinned like a rabbit by better lairs, cheats and thieves. Thais learned to lie, cheat and steal from the Chinese. Now they've gotten too big for their boots. They think the apprentice can lie to, cheat and steal from the Master.

 

Good luck, this is going to be great entertainment, watching Prayuth and his co-conspirators come a humungous cropper.

My you really are rather a dull fellow and do tend to repeat yourself.

 

At least it does seem borne of a genuine bitterness.

 

Please, show us on the doll where the bad thailand touched you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Bastos60 said:

Might want to use google and find what Thai people originate from. 

Yes, how very true.

But, mind, not only Chinese lived and live in China.

 

The whole thing is that Thailand don't need high speed rail.

It will kill the investment made on the existing railways and it will never make a profit.

Two competing rail systems on the same routes?

And getting the Chinese rail in will mean a huge loss for Thailand.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hard to figure why the Junta is pushing this project, other than the income possibilities over the next 50 years.

 

Who will take a HSR train from Khorat to Bangkok, with limited schedules and ticket prices at 1,500 THB? 

 

The Junta is definitely on a train to crazy-town.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

37 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

Hard to figure why the Junta is pushing this project, other than the income possibilities over the next 50 years.

 

Who will take a HSR train from Khorat to Bangkok, with limited schedules and ticket prices at 1,500 THB? 

 

The Junta is definitely on a train to crazy-town.

This government was put into place by big business and they are paying back now. At each station there will be a 711 and shops from the big guns. The tax payers will have to prop up the HST system like they have to do with Thai Air and other state enterprises. The big corporates will however be making profits from the add on business. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It can be likened to a building contractor getting a new contract. 

He gets the bulk of the profit and puts in as little as possible to start the project. 

Then he leaves. 

The new builder has to come in and clean up the mess to finish the project. He gets the last of the money and all the blame for design faults and problems. 

This project is all wrapped up with a bow, ready for the next government to deal with. 

Nothing to do with the ncpo I imagine ????

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, SOUTHERNSTAR said:

This government was put into place by big business and they are paying back now. At each station there will be a 711 and shops from the big guns. The tax payers will have to prop up the HST system like they have to do with Thai Air and other state enterprises. The big corporates will however be making profits from the add on business. 

 

So this High Speed Train will stop at multiple stations between Khorat and Bangkok? That makes even less sense.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, greenchair said:

It can be likened to a building contractor getting a new contract. 

He gets the bulk of the profit and puts in as little as possible to start the project. 

Then he leaves. 

The new builder has to come in and clean up the mess to finish the project. He gets the last of the money and all the blame for design faults and problems. 

This project is all wrapped up with a bow, ready for the next government to deal with. 

Nothing to do with the ncpo I imagine ????

 

You presuppose that there will be a next government in place down the road to blame, when in fact the Constitution entrenches military power irrespective of who they allow to be elected.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can someone clarify if this is freight or passenger?

Who would take a high speed train from Bangkok to Korat? It is only a 2.30 hour drive and mostly it is Hi So Thais who go there in the Khao Yai season, and they are never going to lug their families to a train station instead of driving (you need a car when in Korat anyway to get around). Workers going back to Korat or deeper Issan would not pay for it and will just get cheap buses the once or twice a year they go home.

So who exactly is going to use this train?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Could all wind up in same category of the navy's aircraft carrier with no aircraft? If one can get plane for 1000 baht and be there in one hour ,why pay similar for a train that will take twice as long no matter how fast it is? Then again, China is trying to link up many countries with rail connections. Could one day make a great way to move troops? Nah, that's just silly. Isn't it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would think that a sizeable upper middle income country like Thailand should have a double track standard gauge as normal by now, but no need for super fast 'bullet' train.

One of the problems in the country is that governments have long given incentives to business to develop in Bangkok and the eastern seaboard resulting in an unbalanced spread of population in comparison to most other countries.

If generous business incentives were available to outlying areas maybe people would be able to work near their own homes and a rail system become viable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.





×
×
  • Create New...