Unesco experts to visit rail project in Ayutthaya soon

Experts from Unesco’s World Heritage Committee are scheduled to visit the Ayutthaya section of the high-speed rail track construction project next month, a source said.
According to the source, the Unesco representatives will discuss the project’s Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) with the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) and are expected to give suggestions and technical perspectives on preserving the value of a world heritage site.
These experts, however, do not have any authority to decide whether the construction of the Ayutthaya station of the high-speed railway, which is located 1.5 kilometres from the Ayutthaya Historical Park, can continue, the source said.
The source said Unesco has not sought to ban the construction of the railway but ordered the SRT to conduct an HIA report while keeping the project moving.
According to the source, the contracts to construct the 13.3km Ban Pho-Phra Kaeo rail track in Ayutthaya are expected to be signed between the Transport Ministry and a contractor, Boonchaipanich, soon.
The signing will be reported to Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit, who supervised the SRT operation, instead of Deputy Minister Surapong Piyachote, who supervised earlier, said the source.
The section will be part of the 700km Sino-Thai high-speed rail project from Bangkok to Nong Khai.
For the whole project, the ministry plans to implement a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Gross Cost Investment, similar to the MRT’s Purple Line, on a budget of 80 billion baht, said the source.
The plan will help control fares after the success of the 20-baht flat rate policy on the Purple and Red lines. The ministry will propose the second phase, covering 357.12km from Nakhon Ratchasima to Nong Khai, to the cabinet later.