SRT to invest Bt1.3 trillion for upgrade

BANGKOK, December 8 (TNA) - The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) plans to invest up to some 1.3 trillion baht to revamp and develop its overall rail system and services. Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt told reporters that the Thai government plans to invest a total of about 2.2 trillion baht on improving basic infrastructures nationwide, of which approximately 1.3 trillion baht will be spent on developing SRT’s train and rail system in order to stop the SRT's losses, now stand over 10 billion baht annually. Chadchart suggested that SRT new Governor Prapat Chongsa-Nguan be prepared for developing the state-run rail agency by recruiting efficient personnel to work to further develop the agency. Chadchart acknowledged that the government will take responsibility for loans used to fund the basic infrastructure development projects nationwide; while the SRT is to take care of the rest related to the agency's development. According to the transport minister, the SRT currently, has a total debt of about 98 billion baht, but it has three plots of land in Bangkok which have not yet been developed, worth over 84 billion baht, its total debt is, therefore, not a serious problem. The transport minister pointed out, however, that the problems encountered by the SRT now appear to be a drop in the number of its passengers and cargo services, and that the number of about 45 million people now travelling by train in the country yearly appears to remain low. (TNA)