Junta tough on rail project

15 Jun 2017 2083 | World Travel News

BANGKOK Thailand’s junta chief on Tuesday said he would invoke his ‘absolute powers’ to clear hurdles holding up a multi-billion-dollar deal with China to build a high-speed railway.

The two countries, that enjoy close ties, have agreed to lay track that will ultimately join with a line now under construction in Laos.

The track will eventually link China with Malaysia and Singapore starting in the southern Chinese city of Kunming.

But the deal with Thailand has been beset by delays, including a tussle over the initial loan terms from Beijing.

More recently construction has been set back by a Thai law limiting the number of foreign nationals who can work as engineers and architects on mega-projects inside the kingdom.

On Tuesday Prime Minister, Prayut Chan-O-Cha, said he would force through the deal, if necessary using Article 44 — a self-granted law dubbed an absolute power by critics.

“The government must solve the problem otherwise it will hit snags or legal issues and it will look like the government can’t achieve anything,” he told reporters.

Article 44 is a controversial power Prayut granted himself to make any executive decision in the name of national security.

He has used the law on a raft of issues, from sacking officials to raiding a controversial temple, to deputising all soldiers with policing powers.

His government defends it as a needed tool that bypasses Thailand’s sclerotic bureaucracy.

But critics say it is a vivid illustration of the junta’s unaccountable powers.

Prayut’s comments will be a comfort to Beijing.

The rail deal with China is one of the biggest foreign investment projects in Thailand in years and is part of China’s huge regional infrastructure drive.

The first stage of the Thai railway, a high-speed line between Bangkok and the north east province of Nakhon Ratchasima, is alone worth THB179 billion (USD5.2 billion).

The vast majority of technical expertise will come from Chinese engineers, something that may disgruntle Thai construction firms that stand to lose out.