BMA halts mega transit plans due to cash crunch

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) slammed the brakes on the construction of three ambitious mass transit projects, citing a crippling shortage of funds.

Instead, the projects, the Silver, Grey, and Light Blue lines, will now be handed over to the Ministry of Transport for execution, leaving commuters in the Thai capital hanging in uncertainty.

The decision, rubber-stamped at a meeting of the BMA’s mass transit project management committee, throws a shadow over the much-anticipated Silver Line, a sprawling 19.7-kilometre route destined to link Bang Na with Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

With 14 stations on the cards, the line was poised to offer crucial connectivity, intersecting with the Green Line at Bang Na station and the Yellow Line at Sri-iam station. Yet, dreams of seamless travel are dashed as financial woes derail the project, much to the dismay of residents in Bangkok and Samut Prakan province, where half of the route is situated.

Similarly, Phase One of the Grey Line, spanning 16.3 kilometres from Watcharaphol to Thonglor, is left hanging in limbo. Designed to weave through 15 stations and integrate with a slew of other lines, including Pink, Brown, Yellow, Orange, and Green, its fate now rests uncertainly in the hands of the Ministry of Transport.

The Blue Line, a 9.5-kilometre lifeline from Din Daeng to Sathorn, faces a similar plight with its nine stations, with anticipated connections at Ploenchit and Sala Dang stations.

Deputy Bangkok Governor Wisanu Subsompon, grappling with the harsh reality of financial constraints, conceded that the BMA simply lacks the fiscal muscle to materialise these grand transit visions. With other pressing projects on the docket, the administration is forced to reassess priorities, focusing instead on ventures deemed more beneficial to the city’s residents.

The lone survivor amidst the wreckage of deferred dreams is the extension of the Green Line from Bang Wa to Taling Chan, spanning 7.5 kilometres at an estimated cost of 7 billion baht, reported Thai PBS World.

Yet, even this beacon of hope is shrouded in uncertainty as negotiations unfold with the Department of Rural Roads for access to critical construction areas along Ratchapruek Road. The fate of the extension hangs in the balance, pending approval from Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt and scrutiny from the Land Traffic Management Committee, chaired by none other than the prime minister.