Thailand must pay for pipeline delays

Thailand must pay for pipeline delays

YANGON (AFP): Thailand must pay thousands of dollars a day in compensation if the launch of a disputed gas pipeline linking Myanmar and Thailand is delayed by Thai protesters, officials said here yesterday.

The comments came after demonstrators in western Thailand last week rallied to block construction of a remaining section of the line, due to start pumping in July and bringing in desperately- needed revenue for military-run Myanmar.

The compensation is crucial as the cash-strapped Myanmar government has pledged much of the expected monthly revenues from the project to debtors and will find its debts ballooning if the project is held up, analysts said.

The Thai government has set up committees to establish whether the operator of the 260 kilometer Thai pipeline, the state-owned Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT), will be liable for penalty fines or compensation if the project does not launch on schedule.