Bangkok subway deal signed

Bangkok subway deal signed

BANGKOK (AFP): Thai authorities have appointed a foreign-led consortium to oversee the building of a long-awaited subway system, a report said yesterday.

Bangkok's Metropolitan Rapid Transit Authority (MRTA) signed a 1.28 billion baht (US$26.7 million) consultancy contract with U.S.-based Louis Berger International Inc. to oversee the project, the Bangkok Post said.

Under the deal, the company will lead a consortium of seven firms in supervising the construction of the northern section of Bangkok's subway system, long touted as a solution to the Thai capital's traffic woes.

The contract had been delayed for months due to negotiations over additional costs resulting from the devaluation of the baht, which has lost about 47 percent of its value since being floated in July.

The entire cost of the construction of the lines for the two- line network is expected to come to 52 billion baht (US$1.1 billion), according to the MRTA.