SRT asks Cabinet for special cash

Chief financial officer Arak Ratboriharn said the agency recently submitted a request for the emergency funding to the Transport Ministry and expected it to pass the request to the Cabinet soon.

The SRT will spend the Bt4.2 billion on employees' salaries and interest expenses. It believes the amount will cover these expenses in fiscal 2008, which ends on September 30, he said.

Earlier this year, the Cabinet approved a special budget of Bt4 billion to enhance the agency's liquidity.

Arak said losses were due mainly to the rising cost of diesel oil, because the agency had not increased fares. The SRT expects to book a net loss of Bt9 billion for fiscal 2008.

In fiscal 2009, the SRT could be allocated an initial budget of Bt250 million and then later ask for additional funds. Arak said it might need to borrow and generate returns from investment projects approved recently by its board.

A Transport Ministry source said the SRT must borrow to finance several projects.

First is the development of a 2,644-kilometre double-track railway line costing Bt367.31 billion. The second project entails the fifth and sixth phases of improving the northeastern route over a distance of 586 kilometres by 2013, costing Bt18 billion. Finally is the Red Line urban route from Bang Sue to Rangsit, costing Bt77 billion.

If the SRT does not reorganise and continues to faces liquidity shortages, all of these projects will be affected, the source said.

The source added that the SRT last year faced a liquidity shortage of Bt6 billion and borrowed Bt51.2 billion at interest of Bt1.85 billion a year.

The agency must also handle pension expenses of Bt160 billion - Bt2.4 billion a year.

The SRT expects to post a net loss of more than Bt10 billion next year.