On Tuesday, the cabinet agreed to extend the management and toll collection concessions of Bangkok Express Metro Company (BEM) in exchange for withdrawing 17 pending court cases between BEM and the state owner of expressways, the Expressway and Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (ETA).
The ETA is facing claims for total compensation of more than 78 billion baht for alleged breaches of concession contracts for the A, B and C sections of Srirat expressway, the D extension of the Srirat expressway and the Bang Pa-in-Pakkred expressway.
The concession contract for Srirat expressway’s A, B and C sections, which is due to expire on February 28th, will be extended for a period of 15 years and eight months, while the concession for section D will be extended for eight years and six months. The concession for Bang Pa-in-Pakkred will be extended for nine years and one month. All the three contracts will now expire on October 31st 2035.
The legal dispute stems from ETA’s refusal to allow BEM to adjust toll fees, as stated in the concession contracts, and the ETA’s building of the Bang Pa-in-Pakkred expressway in direct competition with BEM’s expressways.
Of the 17 court cases, BEM have won three cases so far and the court has ordered the ETA to pay 1.7 billion baht in compensation to BEM in one of the three cases.
