Overall, Thaksin's national modernisation programme required the investment of Bt1.7 trillion over a six-year period. During the show, the ex-premier boldly asked interested foreign governments and their private sectors to come up with proposals to invest in these projects, especially the mass-transit routes for Bangkok and nearby areas. Altogether, the 10-route mass-transit plan would have needed investment in excess of Bt500 billion.

Thaksin also suggested that potential foreign investors include barter trade in their proposals, so that Thailand could partially pay for the projects with frozen chicken, rice or other agricultural products.

Politically, the December 2005 show was highly successful as it served to reassure wary Bangkok voters that he was serious about implementing his election pledge. As for the foreign business community, many were upbeat, even though some were left wondering what they would do with Thai frozen chicken if they were really required to buy some in return for big contracts.

The deadline for bid submission was April this year but Thaksin was forced to dissolve Parliament prior to that, so all the projects were suspended for months. In a last-ditch effort to save some of the schemes, the Thaksin Cabinet in August scaled down the programme and approved implementation of only three lines - Blue, Red and Purple - with a total length of 82 kilometres and requiring a combined investment of about Bt163 billion.

After reviewing the mass-transit projects, the Surayud government on Tuesday came out with a Cabinet resolution to go ahead with these three lines plus another two. This will bring the total length of rail line to 118km, but the combined investment outlay will be only Bt165 billion, about Bt1.6 billion more than the previous government's projected outlay for three lines.

The mass-transit routes that got the Surayud government's nod are the Blue Line (Bang Sue-Tha Phra-Bang Khae and Hua Lamphong-Tha Phra with a length of 27km and a cost of Bt52 billion); the Red Line (Rangsit-Bang Sue-Taling Chan, 41km, Bt53 billion); the Purple Line (Bang Yai-Bang Sue, 23km, Bt29 billion); the Dark Green Line (Mo Chit-Saphan Mai, 13km, Bt17 billion) and the Light Green Line (Sukhumvit Soi 107-Samut Prakan, 14km, Bt19 billion).

Savings are expected from the use of detailed designs in the bidding process - so that construction cost can be calculated more accurately - even though this method is more time-consuming than the so-called "design and build" method that the previous government proposed.

The Thaksin government also wanted to allow private sector firms, both local and foreign, to propose their own construction plans and financing plans for it to consider. This method would have offered far greater loopholes for dishonesty than drawing up its own detailed designs first.

In another measure to cut its costs, the Surayud government will invest only in the infrastructure - rail tracks, train stations and depots. It will then invite the private sector to invest in the trains and signalling and related equipment in return for the right to operate the mass-transit systems for a certain concession period.

This model is already being used in the existing underground system, which is privately managed with government oversight, whereas the Thaksin government's model was untried.