Chao Phraya promenade hits hurdle !!!

 

Construction of the 14-billion-baht Chao Phraya promenade

 faces lengthy delays after efforts to conduct a feasibility study

tripped at the first hurdle.
Two of the three contractors that had expressed interest in

 bidding for the rights to the feasibility study have withdrawn

 from the race before it even started, said Pinit Lertudomtana,

 deputy chief of the BMA’s Department of Public Works.

 Mr Pinit said only one consortium, made up of Panya

 Consultants Co, Epsilon Co and Transconsult Co, had

submitted a formal tender.

The other two — Fusion Consultant Co and a consortium

consisting of Consultants of Technology Co, Consultant of

Architecture Co and COU Co — will not take part in the bid.

 Fusion Consultant Co did not  meet the qualifications to

 compete in the bid, while the other consortium failed to

 submit a proposal, said Mr Pinit, who is also a chairman

 of the panel responsible for awarding the contract.

As only one tender has been submitted, the panel will be

 forced to propose the cancellation of the bid to

 BMA executives.

The law stipulates that more than one candidate is required

 to ensure fair competition.

 It will now be up to the BMA executives to make a decision

on how to proceed with the project, Mr Pinit said.

The delay follows heavy criticism from activists and

 academics who say the 7km riverside promenade will damage

the environment, the livelihoods of local communities and the

 diversity of the riverside cultural landscape.

The project, dubbed the “New Landmark of Thailand”, will

 stretch on both sides of the Chao Phraya River, between the

Rama VII and Pin Klao bridges.

 The winner of the BMA contract would have been awarded

 120 million baht to conduct the feasibility study for the

 promenade and map out a master plan. Under the seven-month

 contract, the winner would have been required to study the

 impact of the project on the environment, city planning and

local livelihoods, as well as its effects on the flow of the

 country's main river system.

 An environmental impact assessment is required before

 approval for the project can be sought from the Office of

 Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning.

 The winner would also have been required to craft the

 terms of reference for bidding on the contract to build

 the promenade.

 Mr Pinit said if a new round of bidding for the feasibility

 study is held, the terms of reference may have to be tweaked,

particularly the existing provision that says the qualified

 bidders must be companies registered with the Council of

 Engineers.

He conceded the provision had faced heavy criticism for

 excluding architectural firms from taking part.

 If BMA executives decide to launch a new request for tender,

 the provision may have to be erased to open the field to

 more candidates, Mr Pinit added.

The government called on relevant agencies to speed up their

work on the controversial project.

 Construction was initially scheduled to begin in January next

 year but had already been pushed back to June.

 

News,General,Bangkok Post, 1November 2015.

 

My question is why this project should run if it is not
 

feasible for any benefit to the country.

 

Sincerely Yours.

 

US 'welcomes' Thailand to join TPP !!

 

The United States “would welcome with open arms” Thailand’s

 ruling junta wanting the country to participate in the US-led

Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact without waiting

 for the return of a full democratic government to the country,

the newly appointed US ambassador to Thailand said on Friday.

 

US envoy Glyn Davies gives an interview to the

 Bangkok Post yesterday. Jiraporn Kuhakan

But the normalisation of relations with its partner and ally of

 more than a century will only take place after an elected

 civilian government is installed, Glyn Davies told the

Bangkok Post.

“If they are interested, all they have to do is pick up the phone

 and knock on the door. We are ready to talk about it,”

said the 58-year-old career diplomat, referring to the

 12-nation free trade agreement, which was agreed by Asia-Pacific

 trade negotiators earlier this month. Prime Minister Prayut

 Chan-o-cha, who received a courtesy call from Mr Davies

 on Thursday, has said Thailand has until 2017 to carefully

consider if it is necessary to join the TPP, whose combined

 economic activity accounts for 40% of the global economy.

Three major private-sector bodies — the Thai Bankers’

 Association, the Thai Chamber of Commerce and the

Federation of Thai Industries — say the kingdom’s participation

 in the TPP will boost exports and foreign investments,

 especially in the automotive sector, but civic groups see

 higher prices of medicine and a loss of Thai courts’

 jurisdictive power, especially over tobacco control laws,

 which could eventually boost cigarette consumption.

Mr Davies said Thai authorities have time to join.

 “We put the stress on whether Thailand has an interest in

 joining it. If it does, we would welcome with open arms,”

 he said, adding Bangkok would also need to continue with its

 economic and trade reforms to qualify for such a “high-standard agreement”.

 Despite Washington’s support for Bangkok to join the TPP,

 the 183-year-old bilateral relationship will return to normal

only after Thailand has an elected civilian government,

said Mr Davies, a former US Special Representative for

North Korea Policy.

 “This is one of the reasons why we so often say we hope you

 can get back to that soon because I want that relationship to

 be at 100%. But it won’t stop me from working on the other

 95% of the relationship in the meantime,” said the envoy

who met two senior cabinet ministers and gave four

 one-on-one media interviews this week.

 Constrained by its laws against foreign military governments,

Washington will make its annual military exercise with

Thailand, known as Cobra Gold, another “light” year in 2016,

 said the envoy, whose softened approach in engaging with

the May 2014 coup leaders appears to differ from that of

 his predecessor Kristie Kenney.

 “I think the Cobra Gold military exercise will look a lot like

last year. It would be focusing on humanitarian assistance and

disaster relief as before,” Mr Davies said from his leafy

century-old ambassadorial residence on Wireless Road.

“The US’s existing law and policy put limits on levels of

military-to-military leadership, but real work happens among

 soldiers on the ground and that still goes on.”

Following the 2014 coup, the US army substantially

 scaledback its Cobra Gold personnel from more than 8,000

 in previous years to 3,700 this year.

Section 508 of the Foreign Assistance Act, a US law first

 enacted in 1961, says the United States must cut aid to any

country “whose duly elected head of government is deposed

 by military coup or decree”. However, military cooperation

 in humanitarian activities will continue. Mr Davies said the

 US would offer the the Thai military help again after both

 countries conducted a joint aerial search for “boat people”,

including Rohingya, in the Andaman Sea in May and June

 this year with assistance from US troops based in Malaysia.

 “If there is a need and we can do it, I am sure once again we

 will approach the military government and ask for permission,”

he said as Thai authorities expect movement of migrants

 trying to escape hardship in Myanmar’s Rakhine State and

Bangladesh to start again when the monsoon ends later

 this year and early next year.

Thailand also faces fierce criticism by the United States

over its poor record in addressing human trafficking and

 slavery in its fishing industry. Many Rohingya have been

 sold to work on Thai fishing boats.

 

News,General,Bangkok Post, 31 October 2015.

 

Glad to here that the United State would welcome Thailand

to TPP because the volume of this market represent 40 of

global market.

As some industry will benefit from this market but some loss

so for the maximum benefit of the country,the government

Should analyze ,the country should join the TPP or not.

Sincerely Yours.

PM says he may need to stay at helm !!!

 

 

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha spoke Wednesday at the

 first meeting of the new "five rivers" group beginning work

on the new roadmap. (Photo by Seksan Rojjanametakun)

 

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha says he may need to remain

 in power as long as the country is not at peace.

 Gen Prayut was speaking in parliament at Wednesday's

meeting of the so-called "five rivers of power" -- the

 National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), the cabinet,

 the National Legislative Assembly, the Constitution

Drafting Committee and the National Reform Steering

 Assembly.

 He said the country has moved on to the stage where the

 NCPO is laying down regulations in the lead-up to elections.

 The NCPO has unveiled a time frame of 20 months to write

a charter, hold a referendum on it, enact organic laws and

organise a general election. As the NCPO proceeds with

the roadmap, there must be no attempts to stir up sedition

 or hatred, Gen Prayut said.

 "Politicians do not have to be suspicious of me. [The media]

 writes every day that I intend to cling on to power.

 I must make it clear. If there is no peace and order,

I must stay on," he told the meeting.

 "If there are attempts to bring people  out [onto the streets],

 the movement leaders will be dealt with first," he added.

The premier insisted the five rivers must work together to

 end the country's conflicts, and he urged political parties

 to join the effort.

Gen Prayut recommended the five rivers set up a whip

 panel to coordinate work. He urged them to study the

 political conflicts and compare them with those in other

 countries so a solution could be tailored.

 The premier said he does not want to see the old methods

 of tackling administrative gridlock, including the staging

of coups, pave the way for constitutional amendment.

 Attempts must be made to bring decent and capable people

 into parliament, while younger people must be allowed to

 serve in positions of power, he said.

Those in power, he said, must focus on taking care of

 the people and boosting the country's competitiveness rather

 than on their populist policies.

 The essence is to guarantee equality of people under the

same law, Gen Prayut said.

 According to the prime minister, the government has tried

 to end the political conflict and other problems caused by

 politicians, such as the debt-ridden rice-pledging scheme.

 

 Reforms must be undertaken by focusing on how the country

 can move forward, he said. The now-defunct National Reform

 Council had put in place crucial reform tasks, including

 modifying outdated laws and drafting new ones.

Speaking about police reform, which isis one on a long list

 of reform priorities, Gen Prayut said the key to ushering in

change rests with how to ensure police officers enjoy

 adequate welfare and be proud of their duty of protecting

 the public.

Turning to the budgetary system, he said cost effectiveness

 in state spending must be addressed with more state agency

integration to ensure more productivity, and that in future,

 state agencies' performances must be strictly evaluated.

 Gen Prayut insisted national reform must include aspects,

 such as the law, to ensure efficient combatting of smear

 campaigns against the monarchy.

 "Today they still haven'tstopped [offending the monarchy],

" Gen Prayut said, adding:

"If they continue, we will not tolerate it."

News,General,Bangkok Post , 29 october 2015.

 

In case the country is not in peace I agree that the military

government should stay in the power for I believe they aim

to make peace for the country.

 

Agree with the aim to boost the country's competitiveness

 and avoid populist policies and the attempts must be made to

bring decent and capable people into parliament, while younger

 people must be allowed to serve in positions of power also.

 

 

Sincerely Yours.

Prosecutors brace for bomb suspects' trial !!!

 

Police on Tuesday forwarded an 8,000-page investigation
 report into August's Bangkok bombings to military prosecutors
seeking the indictments of suspects Bilal Turk and
Yusufu Mieraili.

 Investigators are confident the suspects will be indicted due

 to strong evidence, said assistant national police chief

Srivara Ransibrahmanakulm, adding they had already discussed

 the case behind closed doors with military prosecutors.

The motive for the blast was not linked to the Uighurs, he said,

 but refused to give further details, saying it was only

mentioned in general in the report.

The report was divided into four sections for alleged offences

 which took place in the jurisdictions of Lumpini, Yannawa,

Nong Chok and Min Buri police.

 Prosecutors are seeking to indict the suspects for seven

 different offences, according to Pol Maj Gen Chayapol

 Chatchaidet, commander of Metropolitan Police Division 6.

The charges include: premeditated murder, attempted murder,

 making bombs that caused deaths and injuries and damaged

properties, malicious damage, possessing unauthorised

 explosives, carrying explosives in a public place and possessing

 military hardware without a permit.

The Erawan shrine bombing on Aug 17 killed 20 people and

wounded 130. No one was harmed in the Sathon pier explosion

 the following day.

Mr Karadag allegedly admitted to planting a bomb-laden

 backpack at the shrine and Mr Mieraili allegedly confessed

 to detonating it.

If more people are found to be linked with the bombings later,

 they will be added to the report, Pol Lt Gen Srivara said.

The pair, who are being held at the 11th Military Circle, were
 among 17 peoplewanted under arrest warrants approved by
 the Bangkok Military Court.

Pol Maj Gen Chayapol said investigators will later bring
 more charges against Mr Karadag and Mr Mieraili, but
declined to elaborate.

 News,General,Bangkok Post, 28 October 2015.

 

Glad to know ,the conclution for the motive of the Erawan

shrine bombing was not linked to the Uighurs.

 

In my believe these suspects did not do it by themselves

so the authorities  must find out who ordered them to do

so that it can prevent the bomb to happen more in the future.

 

Sincerely Yours.

Exports drop for ninth month !!!

 

 

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and his economy czar
Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak spoke with
 foreign and Thai chief executives Monday, including AAT
 president and chief executive Trevor Negus (at microphone).
 Mr Negus urged urgent work on infrastructure, particularly
 roads, which he said are "in a state of congestion and decay."
 (Photo courtesy of Government House)


Thailand's troubled economy continues to struggle, with
exports falling for the ninth straight month in September as
 imports also plummeted.

The Commerce Ministry yesterday reported shipments fell

 by 5.51% year-on-year last month to a value of UScopy8.8

 billion, easing slightly from August's sharp 6.69% fall, the

second worst this year after a 7.87% decline in June, which

 itself was the biggest drop since an 8.15% decline in

 December 2011.

 For the first nine months of this year, exports dropped by
 4.98% to copy62 billion.
September imports plunged 26.2% year-on-year to a value
of $21.7 billion, resulting in a nine-month fall to $154
billion, down 10.5%.

• First meeting ever: Prayut listens to chief executives

Agricultural and agribusiness products contracted by 9.9%

 year-on-year last month to $2.65 billion.

Industrial goods dropped by 1.9% to copy5.1 billion despite

shipments of automotive and parts rising by 20.6%, driven by

 a 144% surge in passenger car exports.

Somkiat Triratpan, director of the Office of Trade Policy

 and Strategy, attributed the fall in exports to the weak global

 economy and soft demand in major trade partners, particularly

Japan (down by 20.6%), France (down 18.1%), China

 (down 17.9%), South Korea (down 15.9%), Britain (down 10.1%)

 and the US (down 3.6%).

Overall crude oil prices also remained low, declining by 47.5%

year-on-year in the first nine months, while global farm prices

 also dropped sharply, especially for rice, rubber and sugar.

 Export prices of rice dropped by 9.5%, with rubber down 19.8%

 and sugar 8.2%.

Mr Somkiat insisted Thailand's export contraction was low

compared with the performance of other countries such as

 Australia (-21.8%), France (-14.3%), Singapore (-14%),

 Japan (-9.2%), South Korea (-6.4%) and the US (-6.1%).

The Commerce Ministry is still maintaining forecast for exports

 to contract by 3% this year.

"Export contraction is likely to stay within a range of 3.5% to

4% if we come up with export values of copy9 billion baht a

 month for the final three months of the year," Mr Somkiat said.

 "The contraction will widen to 5% if we achieve only copy8

billion a month."

Wallop Vitanakorn, vice-president of Thai National Shippers'

Council, said last month's lower contraction in exports was due

 primarily to a surge in automotive shipments.

 With the global economy remaining far from a recovery and

 Thailand's. economy still weak, the country's exports are

 likely to fall by at least 5% this year, he said.

 Santitarn Sathirathai, the Singapore-based head of economic

 research for Southeast Asia and India at Credit Suisse, said

Thailand's growth would remain lacklustre albeit more

resilient than expected, as tourism numbers may provide

some upside risk to its 2015 GDP forecast of 2% growth.

Thailand's strong current account position means the baht

 will probably outperform its peers unless the Bank of

 Thailand takes more policy actions including cutting rates,

 he said.

 "We continue to see room for another rate cut, but the timing

 remains uncertain. It seems to us the Bank of Thailand may

 wish to see how domestic demand will respond to various

stimuli introduced by the government before adding another

 rate cut," Mr Santitarn said.

 "We still think headwinds to exports will be sufficient to cap

 overall GDP growth in the fourth quarter, which would

prompt the central bank to cut the rate by another 25 basis

 points by year-end.

 "However, a December move looks more likely than the

 upcoming meeting on Nov 4." Sarun Sunansathaporn, an

 economist in Bank of Ayudhya's research department,

 said September's export contraction of 5.5% was better than

the projected 8.3%.

 "Exports in baht terms were positive, as they improved to

 growth of 5.5% on the back of the baht's depreciation,"

 he said.

 However, Mr Sarun said last month's 26.2% import decline

 was a big surprise.

 "This was even worse than economists' bearish forecast of

 a contraction of between 13% and 23.9%," he said.

 Thailand's trade account surplus widened to $2.8 billion,

$2.8 billion, marking a five-month streak of surpluses,

 Mr Sarun said, adding that prospects for domestic demand

and exports remained tepid.

Business,Business News, Bangkok Post, 27October 2015.

 

Export drop and import decline are relate problem it

seem effect by external and internal factor.

For  external factor such as competitive in the world market

it depend on the cost and the price set that should be reasonable

for competitiveness so source and use of fund should be

 examine and implement to the optimal point for each business.

 

For internal factor such as infrastructure and wage rate must

provide and control to the point that can stimulate economic

growth.

 

Believe that authorities involve can solve the problem and

do duty to stimulate export volume and GDP growth well.

 

Sincerely Yours.