LATE NEWS
Eastern water-supply system funded
The Industry Ministry has approved spending of nearly Bt10 billion by the Royal Irrigation Department to manage water supplies along the Eastern Seaboard.
Half of the money will be used to construct the Klong Luang reservoir, and the rest will go towards building a water pipeline from the Chao Phya River. Deputy Industry Minister Piyabutr Cholvijarn said the two projects were expected to be complete in 2010. Current water-management systems are sufficient for the industrial areas of Chon Buri and Rayong provinces for at least two years. - The Nation
Power bidding beginsThe Energy Ministry tomorrow will begin selling bidding documents to begin the process of buying 3,200 megawatts of power from independent power producers. Permanent secretary Pornchai Rujiprapha said bids must be submitted by the end of October, including proposed locations for power plants and the choice of fuel. The bids will be screened in December, with winners announced by the end of next June. He said the winners would be those quoting the lowest prices and proposing the best technology. - The Nation
PTT takes over Jet PTT has set aside a Bt100-million budget to handle the operations of Jet service stations after signing an official purchase agreement yesterday worth US$275 million (Bt9.5 billion). PTT senior executive vice president Chaiwat Chooritti said a new company, PTT Retail, would be set up to take care of the 147 Jet service stations during the transition period. It will use the Bt100 million to improve the stations' services. PTT is entitled to use the Jet trademark to June 2009. CP Seven-Eleven has been given priority to replace the Jet stations' Jiffy Convenience Stores. There are currently 500 7-Eleven stores at PTT service stations, and that number will grow to 600 this year. However, PTT, which operates 1,200 service stations, also plans to run its own non-oil retail business, to offset lower profit margins from retail oil sales. - The Nation
Cute Press confident SSUP Bangkok 1991, maker of Cute Press cosmetics, is maintaining this year's estimated sales figure of Bt1.2 billion despite a drop in consumers' purchasing power. Marketing manager Theeratat Rangsivoraroj said Thailand's sluggish economic growth had not affected company sales, because it had earlier set aside Bt200 million for marketing, to support double-digit sales growth. The company plans to launch 163 new products this year. - The Nation
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