Thailand’s Mass Rapid Transit Authority changes bid criteria for Bangkok’s Orange Line MRT project
The governor of the Thailand’s Mass Rapid Transit Authority (MRTA) has confirmed that bid selection committee of Bangkok’s MRT Orange Line project has taken the decision to amend the bidding criteria, stating that the technical and price proposals need to guarantee the highest profit possible for the Thai government.
Pakapong Sirikantaramas said “The changing of criteria is necessary as the construction of the Orange Line consists of underwater construction which requires additional technical requirements… “The change is legal and not prohibited by the Public-Private Partnership Act BE2562.”
The amended bidding criteria will be issued next week to all parties who had bought bid envelopes, and the MRTA will extend the bid submission deadline by 45 days, from September 23 to November 6, to allow time for bidders to prepare their proposals. There will be a score ratio of 30% for the technical aspects of the proposals and 70% for prices.
The changes are happening after Surapong Laoha-Unya, CEO of Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS), sent a letter to Sirikantaramas asking him and MRTA to clarify the reasons for changing the bidding criteria. Laoha-Unya reportedly also suggested that the MRTA should use only the score from the price proposal to select the bid winner in order to guarantee the highest profit to the government.
The MRTA Orange Line Project consists of construction of 13.4km of tracks from Thailand Cultural Center to Bang Khun Non stations and installation of train system and train operation for the distance of 35.9km from Min Buri to Bang Khun Non stations. It has a budget of Bt142.7 billion with 10 companies having bought bidding envelopes.
The companies are: Bangkok Expressway and Metro, Bangkok Mass Transit System, BTS Group Holdings, Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction, Italian-Thai Development, Ratch Group, Ch. Karnchang, Gulf Energy Development, Sinohydro Corporation and Woranitath Development.
Source: https://futurityjobs.com/2020/09/10/thailand-mrta/
