The contract governing the construction of the Thai-Chinese high-speed railway may need to be renegotiated as work on the first phase between Bangkok and Nakhon Ratchasima has fallen behind schedule, a source at the Transport Ministry said.
The work, which is subdivided into 14 contracts, is only 15% completed. By now, it should have been about 37% finished, according to the source, citing information reported at a meeting of a Thai-Chinese joint committee on the project's implementation on Monday.
The meeting was chaired by Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob and attended by a deputy director of China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
The delay was largely blamed on pandemic restrictions, as well as significant hold-ups in the land expropriation process and the relocation of public utility lines from around the construction site, the source added.
The project's 50.6-billion-baht main contract -- known as Contract 2.3, which covers the railway system, rolling stock, staff training, and technology transfer for the 253-kilometre line from Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima -- has a deadline of March 2026, said the source.
Under the current circumstances, the contract will have to be extended, said the source.
The project's first phase (Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima) was supposed to be completed in 2026, while the second phase, a 356km section from Nakhon Ratchasima to the border province of Nong Khai, was initially expected to be fully built three to four years after the first phase is completed, said the source.
Mr Saksayam said Laos would meet with Thailand and China early next year to discuss connecting the high-speed rail system with Laos' rail network.
The progress report presented in Monday's meeting will be forwarded to Chinese President Xi Jinping through China's NDRC, he said.
As for the plan to construct a new Thai-Lao friendship bridge close to the existing one, China has expressed its willingness to help at every stage, he said.
