BANGKOK, 2 April 2014, – The Cabinet has approved a request from the Ministry of Finance to grant loans to the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) for the construction of three Sky Train lines.
The Deputy Spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office, Pakdehan Himathongkam, made the announcement after Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, saying that the loan would also be used to pay down the MRTA’s debts and related expenses. He noted that 10.9 billion baht would be allotted to the construction of the Purple Line from Bang Yai to Bang Sue; 4.5 billion baht will go to the Blue Line, for the construction of the routes from Hua Lampong to Bang Kae, and Bang Sue to Tha Phra, while another 1.6 billion baht has been set aside for the Green Line linking Bearing and Samut Prakan.
According to the Transport Ministry, construction of the three railway lines is already underway. The Purple Line is estimated to cost 37.7 billion baht. Of that amount 23.2 billion baht has been disbursed since September last year. The cost of the Blue Line and Green Line projects was set at 55 billion baht and 17 billion baht respectively; about half of the Blue Line budget has already been withdrawn while the Green Line has already cost about 3.4 billion baht. The remaining budget is expected to be disbursed in coming weeks.
