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BMTA gets Cabinet nod to develop its lands for market, mixed-use projects (nationthailand.com)

BMTA gets Cabinet nod to develop its lands for market, mixed-use projects

NationalDec 12. 2020

By THE NATION

The Cabinet has approved in principle the amendment of the royal decree on the establishment of the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA), allowing it to conduct other businesses or make investments that are beneficial to the BMTA’s operations.

Deputy government spokesperson Trisulee Trisaranakul said on Friday that the amendment was a part of BMTA’s rehabilitation plan to reduce its overwhelming debt, as proposed by the Ministry of Transport.

“Earlier, the ministry had told the BMTA to study the possibility of developing its lands currently used as a bus garage for commercial uses,” a source from BMTA revealed.

“Two pieces of lands had been proposed for the project: The Minburi bus garage has 10 rai (1.6 hectare) available with market value of Bt347 million, and the Bang Khen bus garage, which has 11-1-93 rai available with market value of Bt1.14 billion.”

In 2017, BMTA hired Thammasat University Research and Consultancy Institute to conduct a feasibility study of the project. The institute concluded that the land at the Minburi bus garage should be developed into a market while the land at Bang Khen bus garage should be developed into a mixed-use project comprising shopping malls and upper class hotels.

“According to Thammasat’s estimation, BMTA can collect land usage fee at 30 per cent of market value from private partners who will engage in land development worth approximately Bt361 million, and can collect land rental fee throughout the 30-year contract worth Bt1.206 billion,” added the source. “However, the project was put on hold as commercial use of land does not comply with the objectives of establishing the BMTA as stated in the royal decree. Consequently, the Ministry of Transport proposed the amendment to the decree.”

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Former public health minister Mongkol dies at 79 (nationthailand.com)

Former public health minister Mongkol dies at 79

NationalDec 12. 2020Mongkol na Songkhla 

By THE NATION

Former minister of public health, Dr Mongkol na Songkhla, died on Friday. He was 79.He was undergoing treatment for cancer for a long time.Mongkol was a minister in the government of prime minister Surayut Chulanont from 2006 to 2008. He had also served as secretary-general of the Food and Drug Administration, and was also permanent secretary at the Ministry of Public Health.His funeral will be held at Wat Pariwat Ratchasongkhram in Bangkok’s Rama III area.

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12 new Covid-19 cases found in quarantine (nationthailand.com)

12 new Covid-19 cases found in quarantine

NationalDec 12. 2020

By THE NATION

The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration on Saturday reported 12 new cases in quarantine facilities.The new patients included nine Thai returnees and three foreigners.The Thai returnees included eight women and a man. Seven of the women, aged 23, 31, 33, 35, 39, 41 and 51, flew back from Bahrain. Another woman, 19, came from the UK, while the only male patient, 41, was from Germany.The foreigners consisted of a Swede, 37, an Indian, 35, and a Kuwaiti, 40, coming from their home countries.All the patients were asymptomatic, except a Thai national, 31, from Bahrain, and the Kuwaiti man.As of Saturday, the number of confirmed cases in Thailand had risen to 4,192 (1,204 in state quarantine), 217 are in hospital, 3,915 have recovered and been discharged, while 60 have died.According to Worldometer, as of Saturday morning the number of confirmed cases worldwide since the outbreak had risen to 71.43 million, 49.63 million of whom have recovered and 1.6 million have succumbed to the infection.Thailand ranks 151st globally, while the US has the most cases with 16.29 million, followed by India (9.82 million), Brazil (6.83 million), Russia (2.59 million) and France (2.35 million).

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Thai man arrested for allegedly smuggling 12 illegal migrants into Ubon Ratchathani (nationthailand.com)

Thai man arrested for allegedly smuggling 12 illegal migrants into Ubon Ratchathani

NationalDec 12. 2020

By THE NATION

An Ubon Ratchathani man has been arrested for allegedly transporting 12 illegal migrants from Laos in a pickup truck late on Friday.

The undocumented migrants comprised five males and seven females.

At 10pm on Friday, officers of Navy’s Mekong Patrol Operation Command arrested Pranee (last name withheld), a local of Ubon Ratchathani’s Sri Muang Mai district, near a border checkpoint in Na Pho Klang subdistrict, in Khong Chiam district, which shares a border with Laos.

One of the migrants reportedly said that they had travelled from several cities in Laos’ Champasak province, and had paid an agency in Thailand Bt4,000 to Bt5,000 per person to transport them to Bangkok to find jobs.

The suspect and the migrants were taken to Khong Chiam Police Station for questioning.

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Network opposing industrial estate vows indefinite protest outside Government House (nationthailand.com)

Network opposing industrial estate vows indefinite protest outside Government House

NationalDec 12. 2020

 Members of Jana Ruk Thin Network camped out at the foot of Chamai Maru Chet Bridge on Rama V Road near Government House in Bangkok’s Dusit district for the second day on Friday.

An NGO dedicated to preserving Songkhla’s environment, the network has been urging the government to halt the plan to establish Jana Industrial Estate until a thorough strategic environmental assessment is carried out. It is also accusing the government of rushing the decision to approve the project to benefit a private company that had donated several millions of baht to Palang Pracharath Party, the key member of the ruling coalition.

Managed by TPI Polene and IRPC, Jana Industrial Estate will cover 16,700 rai (2,672 hectares) in three subdistricts of Jana district — Sakom, Taling Chan and Na Thap. It will be the largest industrial estate project in the South and therefore have significant impacts on surrounding communities, especially in environmental and marine resource aspects.

In a statement issued on Friday, the network said they would continue to camp out near Government House until they received a satisfying answer from the government.

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Upper Thailand gets warmer with morning fog (nationthailand.com)

Upper Thailand gets warmer with morning fog

NationalDec 12. 2020

By THE NATION

The Thailand Meteorological Department forecast on Saturday that a weak high-pressure system covers upper Thailand, resulting in temperatures rising by 1-3 degrees Celsius as well as morning fog, including dense fog in some areas. All vehicles should move with caution in foggy areas, the department said.

The department added that the weak northeast monsoon prevailing across the Gulf of Thailand and the South will bring less rain to the areas, while waves in the Gulf will rise about a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.

During December 15-18, another high pressure cell from China will extend to cover upper Thailand, bringing cool to cold weather with strong winds and a 2-3°C drop in temperature over the upper country.

The weather forecast for the next 24 hours:

North: Cool to cold weather with fog in the morning and dense fog in some areas; minimum temperature 12-18 degrees Celsius, maximum 29-35°C; temperature on hilltops is likely to drop to 4-13°C.

Northeast: Cool weather with fog in the morning and dense fog in some areas; minimum temperature 16-22°C, maximum 31-33°C; temperature on hilltops is likely to drop to 8-12°C.

Central: Cool weather and fog in the morning; minimum temperature 19-22°C, maximum 32-35°C.

East: Cool weather in the morning; minimum temperature 24-25°C, maximum 32-35°C; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres off shore.

South (east coast): Partly cloudy with thundershowers in 10 per cent of the areas; minimum temperature 21-24°C, maximum 30-33°C; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.

South (west coast): Partly cloudy with thundershowers in 10 per cent of the areas; minimum temperature 22-25°C, maximum 32-34°C; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.

Bangkok and surrounding areas: Fog in the morning; minimum temperature 23-24°C, maximum 32-34°C.

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Government stimulus packages have facilitated recovery of SMEs (nationthailand.com)

Government stimulus packages have facilitated recovery of SMEs

NationalDec 12. 2020

By THE NATION

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Thailand are on the path to recovery due to the stimulus packages launched by the government, according to the Federation of Thai SME.The federation president, Chonrungsee Chalermchaikit, said that some SMEs had already recovered from the Covid-19 crisis. She added that the stimulus package “Khon La Khrueng” (Let’s Go Halves) had helped in the recovery of grass-roots businesses, increasing the sales of SME products.However, she said that sales had not returned to their normal level. At the moment, sales were lower than the pre-pandemic levels by around 30 per cent.She added that sales of SMEs would gradually recover if the second wave of Covid-19 does not occur in Thailand.Chonrungsee said that SMEs in the tourism sector have still not recovered, especially the small ones. She explained that domestic tourists could not make up for the absence of foreigners, and the government should improve its tourism stimulus package for small entrepreneurs.As for the Covid-19 situation in the northern provinces of the country, Chonrungsee described it as an aggravation for tourism in the region, if the government is unable to control it.Next year, the president predicted that SME entrepreneurs would improve or adapt themselves in line with the post-coronavirus market situation. She predicted that entrepreneurs would adopt technologies for various parts of their businesses, whether production, management, marketing or even service. And tech startups would increase to tackle the technological need of businesses in the future.Chonrungsee said that a weak point of small companies was that the owners did everything by themselves, so there was not enough time for them to focus on digital improvement of their businesses.

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Palace, Emerald Buddha Temple open despite police barricades (nationthailand.com)

Palace, Emerald Buddha Temple open despite police barricades

NationalDec 11. 2020Photos by Korbphuk Phromrekha 

By The Nation

Tourist attractions on Bangkok’s historical Rattanakosin Island were open Friday despite the continued presence of container and razor wire barricades erected by police to deal with a pro-democracy rally on Thursday.

Police set up the heavy fortifications after the Ratsadon pro-democracy group called a rally in front of the UN building on Thursday to urge the organisation to back efforts to repeal the draconian lese-majeste law, or Section 112 of the Criminal Code.

On Friday, tourists wishing to visit attractions such as the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) were advised to use routes behind the Supreme Court Office and Tai Wang intersection.

Police began dismantling the razor wire barricades on Friday afternoon.

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SRT schedules extra trains to North, Northeast for New Year exodus (nationthailand.com)

SRT schedules extra trains to North, Northeast for New Year exodus

NationalDec 11. 2020

By The Nation

The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) has scheduled 12 extra train services between Bangkok and the North and Northeast to help people get home for the New Year holiday.

The move was made to meet travel demand after all tickets were booked up over the holiday period.

Six extra trains will run from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, to Ubon Ratchathani and to Udon Thani from December 30 to January 2. Six more will make the return journeys from December 31 to January 4.

The SRT is also speeding up maintenance work on bogies to support passengers on all routes from December 29 to January 4.

“With this plan the SRT will be able to support at least 100,000 passengers daily, so we can confirm no passengers will be left stranded in railway stations,” the SRT said.

Meanwhile the SRT has cancelled trains No 909/910 from Bangkok to Nam Tok (Kanchanaburi) and trains No 911/912 from Bangkok to Suan Son Pradiphat (Prachuap Khiri Khan) from December 31 to January 1.

Passengers can reserve tickets at www.railway.co.th or railway stations nationwide. Or they can call 1690 or visit the pr.railway Facebook page for more information.

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14 Myanmar nationals caught trying to enter Thailand in Tak (nationthailand.com)

14 Myanmar nationals caught trying to enter Thailand in Tak

NationalDec 11. 2020

By THE NATION

Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Company arrested a total of 14 Myanmar nationals caught sneaking across the border into Trat province on Friday.

An Army patrol in Mae Sot district arrested 11 Myanmar nationals, one male and 10 females, as they were crossing the Mei River to enter Thailand at Mae Ku subdistrict. The illegal migrants were sent to Tak public health office for Covid-19 tests and interrogation.

On the same day, a 4th Infantry rapid response team arrested three more Myanmar nationals trying to cross the border at Mae Tao district. Officials said the suspects, two males and one female, were caught carrying 46 packages of smuggled cigarettes.

They were sent to Tak police station for interrogation and Covid-19 tests.

One of the patrolling officers said the Covid-19 outbreak in Myanmar’s Myawaddy town, which shares a border with Tak, is getting worse with the number of infections growing. Thai officials have tightened security to prevent illegal crossings via natural channels, he said.

“Also, the economic recession in Myanmar has resulted in worsening unemployment, so more of its nationals are trying to enter Thailand to find jobs,” he added.