State Railway of Thailand set to call bids for B128bn rail ventures
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) is preparing to call bids for two double-track railway projects worth 128 billion baht with results expected to be known by the end of this year.
SRT governor Nirut Maneephan said contractors for both rail projects will be selected through an e-bidding process with the northern rail route worth 72.9 billion baht to go first.
The 323-kilometre northern rail project runs from Den Chai in Phrae to Chiang Khong in Chiang Rai.
Construction of the Den Chai-Chiang Rai route is divided into three contracts: the 103km Den Chai-Ngao section (26.5 billion baht), the 132km Ngao-Chiang Rai section (26.9 billion baht) and the 87km section from Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong (19.4 billion baht).
Mr Nirut said the next double-track rail project to be put up for the e-bidding is the 355-km northeastern route with an estimated cost of 55.4 billion baht. The route links Ban Phai district in Khon Kaen with Nakhon Phanom province in the upper Northeast.
Construction of the Ban Phai-Nakhon Phanom route is split into two contracts — the 180km Ban Phai-Nong Phok section (27.1 billion baht) and the 175km Nong Phok-Nakhon Phanom (28.3 billion baht).
Work on the two rail route projects includes building elevated sections, underpasses, overpasses, train stations, and installation of signalling and telecommunication systems. Construction of the northern route is expected to be completed in six years while that of the northeastern project will take about four years.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2086675/srt-set-to-call-bids-for-b128bn-rail-ventures
