The Central Administrative Court on Wednesday threw out a lawsuit in which the Bangkok Mass Transit System Plc (BTSC) sued the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) as well as the bidding committee for damages over the Orange Line's western extension.
The lawsuit involved the MRTA's decision to revise the terms of reference (ToR) for bidding for the Orange Line's western extension from Bang Khunnon to Min Buri.
The changes came despite the MRTA having already sold bid envelopes to several potential bidders.
The bid was later cancelled after the BTSC, which operates the BTS Skytrain, protested.
In dismissing the lawsuit, the court said that while the changes made to the ToR were unlawful, they did not cause any damage to the BTSC.
In the court's view, the costs which the BTSC incurred from technical and legal consultants were normal expenses in doing business and did not stem from the changes made to the ToR.
As such, the court said it decided to dismiss the lawsuit.
Surapong Laoha-Unya, CEO of the BTSC, said the company would consult legal advisers on what to do next. It has 30 days to appeal.
He said there are two other lawsuits involving the changes to the Orange Line's bidding criteria, and one involving the MRTA's cancellation of the bidding process has been filed with the Administrative Court.
The other, which relates to the MRTA's allegedly unlawful revision of the bidding terms and its cancellation of the bid for the extension, has been filed with the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases, he said.
