Bangkok Metro (BMCL) is prepared to purchase 20 train carriages from German firm Siemens if it wins subway-operation concessions for two of six new routes approved yesterday by the Cabinet.

Sombat Kitjalaksana, managing director of the company that operates the subway, said the procurement deal would be processed after the bidding results for the two routes are announced this year.

Buying the carriages in bulk could mean a discount, he said. BMCL now operates the Bang Sue-Hua Lamphong route with 19 carriages supplied by Siemens.

"We have started negotia-tions with Siemens and we are confident of winning the concessions given our relatively lower operating cost. We don't need to build a new depot or invest in maintenance equipment. Moreover, we have operating experience, which gives us an advantage over the others," Sombat said.

The Cabinet yesterday approved  in principle the construction of six subway routes, which form parts of four main subway lines - Red, Purple, Blue and Green. With a combined length of 131 kilometres, the projects are expected to cost Bt165 billion. The government has said the projects would be funded through an issue of bonds and with loans from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.

Government agencies will now work on the specifics of construction and funding for each project and submit them to the Cabinet for final ap-proval. Construction of some projects may be broken down into parts.

The first route to be put up for bidding will be a 15-kilo-metre stretch of the Red Line, Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand governor Prapat Chongsanguan told reporters. Its bidding will kick off in April.

Biddings for the others will follow until June next year. All are slated for completion in 2012.

Sombat said BMCL was interested in bidding for two routes: Bang Sue-Tha Phra, Hua Lamphong-Bang Khae (Blue) and Bang Yai-Bang Sue (Purple). Both are still waiting for environmental-assessment approvals.

According to the Transport Ministry's plan, the bidding for the Blue Line is expected to start in September, with construction beginning next April. Bidding for the Purple Line is slated for May, with construction starting in December. They are slated for completion in 46 months and 36 months, respectively.

Operating concessionaires are to be selected during the course of construction. The bid winners will be given six months to design the electrical system, 26 months to install the system and six months for trial operations.

Both routes are under the supervision of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority. 

Watcharapong Thongrung

The Nation