The State Railway of Thailand had pushed for joint development of the Makkasan green area with the Finance Ministry, in exchange for forgiving 61 billion baht of its total debt. (File photo)
The Finance Ministry has backed away from developing the 500-rai Makkasan plot owned by the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) under a debt-for-land deal with the rail agency.
The State Enterprise Policy Commission (SEPC), or the superboard, earlier agreed to a proposal that the SRT lease the Makkasan plot to the Finance Ministry's Treasury Department for 99 years for commercial development in return for clearing 61-billion-baht of its debt.
The Council of State later gave the deal the green light, saying SRT land could be developed for commercial purposes.
Deputy Transport Minister Ormsin Chivapruck said Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong suggested the SRT develop the land itself if it is ready to do so.
If the Finance Ministry is to develop the land, it needs to hire consultants to conduct a feasibility study again, Mr Ormsin said, citing Mr Apisak. The SRT had hired consultancy firms to conduct a study earlier, the deputy transport minister said.
Treasury Department director-general Chakkrit Parapuntakul and SRT executives will be invited for talks to find ways to develop the land, Mr Ormsin said.
If the SRT can handle the land development itself, the SEPC's resolution needs to be amended, the deputy minister said.
He noted plans for the Makkasan land development have been laid out. These include the scope of investment and the development of land for commercial purposes, a public park and the Bueng Makkasan reservoir.
The SRT will dust off the plans if an agreement is reached, he noted.
An SRT source said a debt-for-land deal with Treasury Department would not have solved the SRT's debt and sluggish liquidity problems since it is more than 100 billion baht in debt.
The SRT also needs 18 billion baht more to relocate its maintenance depot, living quarters and a hospital, the source noted.
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