Bangkok Expressway and Metro Plc (BEM) has won the bid to jointly invest with the government in the Orange Line’s western expansion project.
BEM triumphed against the Italian-Thai Development Plc (ITD) and South Korean company Incheon Transit Corporation’s joint venture, ITD Group.
According to the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA), BEM presented the highest promised investment return and requested the least subsidies. The agency’s net present value (NPV) offer of 78.28 billion baht was 24.35 billion less than the amount given by ITD Group.
NPV is the difference between the present value of cash inflows and cash outflows over a period of time. It is used in capital budgeting and investment planning to evaluate the profitability of a projected investment or project.
About 14 billion baht of the approximately 140 billion baht investment value of the Orange Line project would be utilized to purchase land for building the new Orange Line. Another 96 billion baht would be utilized for constructing electric railways and acquiring electric trains, while the remaining balance will be used for maintenance.
The Orange Line consists of two portions, the eastern section of 17 stations running 22.5 km from the Thailand Cultural Center to Min Buri and the western section of 11 stations stretching 13.4 km from Bang Khun Non to the Thailand Cultural Center.
The project is now under construction and is slated to begin service in August 2025, while its western section is scheduled to begin in December 2027. (NNT)
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