Bangkok Metro (BMCL) could face fines of more than US$49.68M because the city’s first underground railway is more than a year behind schedule.
Suwat Liptapanlop, close to the prime minister, told the Mass Rapid Transit Authority (MRTA), the government department overseeing construction, that it should claim compensation.
BMCL said the start of revenue services was postponed from July 2003 to August 2004 because of delays in the supply of rolling stock. The firm said the first train set, built by Siemens in Germany, would not roll off the production line until July 2003, and not arrive in Bangkok until November 2003 for test runs in December.
But the MRTA blamed BMCL for the delays. Vijit Wacharin, deputy MRTA governor, said: “BMCL wasted time on two matters – changing the train supplier and its attempts to get financing… Under the concession contract, BMCL will be fined US$173,874 a day for the delay. The contract guarantee is only US$3.73M.”
Liptapanlop added: “The state is investing more than US$2bn in the metro. The delay means we’ll have to put up with traffic problems longer and we’ll miss out on fares.”
The Thai government is providing 80% of the US$2.5bn project costs to cover construction cost, including heavy civil engineering work such as tunnel and station building. The 20km line runs from Hua Lampong to Bang Sue.
