BMA, MRTA to sign land transfer MoU

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) for the handover of areas during construction of the western section of the Orange Line this week.
Tawatchai Napasaksri, director of the BMA’s Public Works Department, said on Monday the committee responsible for the handover of roads in Bangkok, along with key agencies and seven district offices, met last Monday. They discussed the handover of areas and roads during construction of the Orange Line mass transit project’s western section from the Thailand Cultural Centre to Bang Khun Non.
After the handover, the contractor will survey all structures, both above and underground, along the Orange Line’s route in the areas in question. Initial excavation work will take place at night, with the road being reopened to traffic during the day.
Full road closures for the construction, both during the day and night, will begin next year.
The MRTA will be required to inform the public in advance of the full closures and erect warning signs and traffic management plans according to established safety standards.
This is a requirement under the terms of the MoU, which will be signed this week.
The committee agreed to hand the entire width of the designated roads along the Orange Line’s route to the MRTA, allowing them to proceed with the construction.
The MRTA’s Bangkok Expressway and Metro Public Company Limited (BEM), which holds the concession for the Orange Line project, and CH Karnchang Public Company Limited, the contractor, have been able to access the areas in preparation for the handover since last Tuesday.
The BMA’s concern with the construction is the dismantling of three flyovers at Pratunam Intersection, Ratchathewi Intersection as well as where Sutthawat Road and Charan Sanitwong Road intersect, according to the director.
These bridges will need to be removed to make way for the underground tunnel construction.
After completion, they will be rebuilt, but the work may cause significant traffic disruption.
The MRTA has been urged to prepare detailed traffic management plans for each area to minimise the impact on the public.