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Bangkok to integrate
public mass transit tickets
Thailand’s operators of elevated trains, subways, trains and Bangkok
city hall signed an agreement last week to kick off integrated tickets
to facilitate commuters travel by mass public transportation.
After signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between agencies
concerned, Transport Minister Admiral Thira Haocharoen said the pilot
project will be launched for passengers of the elevated rail system and
the subway during the next six months.
When the two public transport systems are connected, passengers can
travel by both elevated and underground trains with a single card.
In the future, the integrated ticketing system will cover both the
capital’s future public transportation such as the Airport Link elevated
train, and new routes of electrified trains to the greater Bangkok
suburbs, he said.
Khiri Kanchapat, an executive of the Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS),
said that the company will discuss more with the Bangkok Metro (BMCL)
regarding integrating the management of software and hardware of the
ticketing systems.
A joint venture company will be set up to handle administrative and
financial management.
Skytrain serves 400,000-450,000 passengers daily on weekdays and earns
about Bt9-10 million daily, while there are about 300,000 passengers
daily on Saturday and Sunday. (TNA)
Thailand’s largest resort
and theme park planned
Thailand’s Pacific Shore claims it is in the process of developing the
country’s largest integrated beach resort and theme park complex and the
world’s first “cyber beach city”, investing upwards of 20 billion baht
(US$640 million) within the next seven years.
The project covers a 32-hectare plot of land, located on Bang Saray Bay,
about 15 minutes by car south of Pattaya or one-and-a-half hours drive from
Bangkok. The first phase of construction is slated to begin early next year
and to be completed by 2012, while the entire complex is expected to be
completed by 2015.
The first phase of development, covering 14 hectares, will cost about six
billion baht. The investment will be spent on a 490-room luxury hotel, a
twin condominium/hotel building with 720 keys, a cluster of 32 private
villas, a spa and wellness complex, an Amazon Falls Water Theme Park by
White Water West Industries, man-made beaches and lagoons, a dedicated
convention centre for 3,000 people and sport and lifestyle facilities.
Pacific Shore chairman and CEO, Mr. Liakat Dhanji, ambitiously said he was
hoping to position the project to be on par with glamorous seaside
destinations such as The Italian Riviera. He said he was looking at engaging
The Ritz Carlton or Hyatt International to manage the 490-room luxury hotel.
(TTG)
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