Napapol Jirakul, Member of the Bangkok Metropolitan Council (Bangkok Noi District) and Chairman of the Ad hoc Committee for the Study of Green Line Mass Transit Project Issues, revealed to “Kaohoon” that Chadchart Sittipunt, Governor of Bangkok, has not yet proposed the approval to use reserve funds to pay the operation and maintenance (O&M) debts for Green Line extensions 1 and 2, totaling THB 32 billion, within this month.
The delay may cause the debt settlement process negotiated with BTS Group Holdings Public Company Limited (SET: BTS) to miss the deadline agreed upon with the private sector.
Therefore, the agreement to request debt reduction cannot be implemented. Currently, Bangkok is burdened with THB 6 million in interest per day, an issue that must be the responsibility of the Bangkok Governor.
This delay is not only a breach of promise but also has a direct financial impact and may lead to an official agreement violation, said Napapol.
In addition, there are reports that by the end of September, the Central Administrative Court will rule on the second case that BTS filed against Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and Krungthep Thanakom, demanding BMA pay THB 12.245 billion in O&M service fees for the second lawsuit period (June 2021 – October 2022).
The second ruling may cause BMA to wait for the court’s decision before making payments. However, debt repayment is unavoidable since the previous Supreme Administrative Court ruling already supports it.
Napapol further stated that in the recent BMC meeting, he reported the results of negotiations between BMA representatives and BTS, which concluded that BMA would pay the O&M debt by October in exchange for BTS reducing the interest charges.
He also reported the opinion of the BMA Ad Hoc Commission, which agreed to pay the O&M debt to reduce BMA’s damage from interest burdens. No member of the council objected to this matter.
However, the key issue at present is the decision by the BMA executives to postpone the motion, citing reasons such as waiting for interest income since the full six months have not elapsed, and waiting for the Central Administrative Court’s verdict. This may unnecessarily increase BMA’s total debt burden.
