The Prime Minister of Thailand fights for the China-Thailand Railway
Since June, due to a speech by Thai Prime Minister Prayut, the construction of the China-Thailand railway project known as a "marathon" is finally expected to "speed up".
“The (Thailand) government must solve these problems, otherwise it will encounter new difficulties or involve legal issues, and the result will make people think that the government can’t do anything well.” On June 13, Prime Minister Prayuth made a statement through the country’s media. These "resolved" remarks. He even promised to use his "absolute power" to remove obstacles to the high-speed rail project. The China-Thailand Railway Cooperation Project held a groundbreaking ceremony as early as the end of 2015, but due to various reasons, construction has not yet started. "This time, the Prayut government has finally made a real move." In response, public opinion in Thailand commented.
Thailand’s "Bangkok Post" stated that this announcement, which came into effect on June 15th, puts forward a number of specific requirements for accelerating the progress of the China-Thailand railway plan. Among them, deadlines are clearly given for the preparation, review, and approval of the project contract draft.
In fact, for the "timetable" of the plan, Prayut has already issued a "death order": he asked that the issue of obstructing the China-Thailand railway project must be before he travels to China to participate in the Ninth BRICS Leaders' Meeting in September this year. Solve, and start the construction of the project within this year.
According to Singapore’s "Straits Times" report, in accordance with Article 44 of the Constitution, Prayut can make any administrative decision in the name of national security. For example, in February this year, when the Thai police surrounded the Dhammakaya Temple and searched for the abbot suspected of corruption, Prayut used this clause.
Obstacles to the China-Thailand Railway
Critics in Thailand have claimed that Article 44 of the Constitution makes Prayut’s power unrestricted. But the Thai government stated that this is a necessary means to circumvent Thailand’s rigid bureaucracy.
Prayut himself also emphasized to the domestic media that the purpose of using Article 44 of the Constitution is not to provide "special treatment" to China, but to benefit the Thai people.
"Bangkok Post" reported on June 14 that the spokesperson of the Prime Minister's Office of Thailand, San Sen, revealed to the media that Deputy Prime Minister Visanu is stepping up to formulate the content of the order in accordance with Article 44 of the Constitution, which will involve hindering the progress of the China-Thailand railway plan. "Five Legal Issues".
The main problems are the conflict between Thailand's existing laws and this huge project.
The first is the qualification of Chinese engineers involved in the construction of high-speed rail. Thai law stipulates that foreign engineers must pass the qualification examination in Thailand before they can participate in construction in the country.
Sansen said frankly that such regulations seem to be a bit unreasonable. “The Chinese have built more than 20,000 kilometers of high-speed rail in the country. Thailand has not started to build it at all, but we require them (Chinese engineers) to get a license in Thailand. "
"So we decided to take a compromise approach. Thailand provides training courses for Chinese engineers to familiarize them with the local geographic environment." Sansen said.
According to Thai media, other obstacles include restrictions on the Government Procurement Law, under which projects exceeding 5 billion baht (1 billion yuan) must be reviewed by a "super committee", which will be time-consuming and long-lasting. In addition, some areas passed by this high-speed railway are farmland. According to the law, these land cannot be used for other purposes. "In order to overcome all these restrictions, Article 44 of the Constitution must be used." Sansen said.
"For the advancement of the China-Thailand Railway, Thai Transport Minister Akong told me that the Thai language should be'Zhai Yanyan...' This phrase means, calm down and don't worry." said Yang Zhou, a reporter from Xinhua News Agency in Bangkok.
The reason why Akong said he was “not in a hurry” is that for Thailand, there is still a lot of preparatory work that needs to be done. “One is that the investment in this project is large, and all issues must be discussed. In addition, Indonesia’s The high-speed rail is a precedent, and it has been stagnant for a long time after the start of construction. Thailand does not want to be like this." Yang Zhou said.
The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway in Indonesia held a groundbreaking ceremony in January last year, but it hasn't moved for a long time due to insufficient preparations and difficulties in local land acquisition.
In Yang Zhou's view, the use of "absolute power" in Prayut this time shows that the Thai authorities have made up their minds to promote the construction of high-speed rail projects. "What the Deputy Minister of Transport and I said is that construction will definitely start in 2017."
According to the Thai government’s plan, the China-Thailand railway cooperation project will be implemented in two phases. The Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima section of approximately 252 kilometers is laid first, and then the Nakhon Ratchasima-Nongkhai section of approximately 355 kilometers is constructed, which is connected to the China-Laos Railway. Leading to China.
Among them, the Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima section will be divided into four sections to build, and the length of the first section is only 3.5 kilometers.
As for why the length of "3.5 kilometers" was chosen, Thai Transport Minister Akong said that it is to start construction as soon as possible, which is the simplest and most feasible.
In addition to the 3.5 kilometers at the beginning, the remaining three sections are about 11 kilometers, 110 kilometers, and 130 kilometers in length. The related design will be completed within 6 months after the first section starts. However, even if the "start" is only 3.5 kilometers, the preparatory process for its groundbreaking looks like a "marathon" long-distance race in the eyes of the Thai media.
In February of this year, Thai Lat News quoted a government official as saying that given the large budget and technical details involved in the China-Thailand railway cooperation project, relevant work must be done step by step, and the question of whether the investment is cost-effective must also be considered. Therefore, it is affirmed need some time.
Thailand's Coconut Network in Bangkok said that the construction of the China-Thailand Railway has been delayed for a long time due to technical and legal issues, but judging from a series of recent developments, the progress of the project has been greatly accelerated. On May 24, the 18th meeting of the China-Thailand Railway Cooperation Project Joint Committee was held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Bangkok. China and Thailand reached a consensus on the main content of the agreement, with only a few small details to be finalized. "All in all, the consensus that Thais have reached is that this expensive railway is worth the money." Bangkok Coconut Network concluded.