Environmental concerns will not fail Thai-Chinese high-speed train project

BANGKOK, Oct 5 (TNA) – The Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP) demanded additional documents on environmental impact assessment (EIA) on the Thai-Chinese high-speed railway project which would delay but not scrap it, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) said. In response to reports that the demand from the ONEP was delaying the project, acting SRT governor Anont Lueangboriboon ruled out the possibility that the EIA of the project would be dismissed. He said the ONEP only demanded some additional documents and it was normal for any project. He admitted that the demand from the ONEP would delay the project for about one month. It concerned only the construction of the project’s first and symbolic 3.5-kilometer section from the Pang Asok station to the Klang Dong station. The timetable of the whole project was not affected, he said. According to sources, the ONEP demanded three cement manufacturers signed documents to acknowledge the planned railway as its initial section between Bangkok and Nakhon Ratchasima province would pass their concession areas. (TNA)