The German engineering giant Siemens has submitted its proposal to the government to build electric trains in Thailand to serve the government's plan to develop Bangkok's rail network.

Siemens filed a letter outlining its interest to Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej at the end of March, said Ralph Hasselbacher, senior vice-president of Siemens Transportation Systems, Thailand.

The design concept has been developed since 2006 when Siemens started studying building a train assembly plant in Thailand, he said. However, he declined to reveal details of the plan at this stage, saying that the government's requirements have yet to be made clear.

''We can decide on this once the detailed conditions of the mechanical and electrical tender are known,'' said Mr. Hasselbacher. ''We have established our own concept with the most feasible options. It now depends on what the government ultimately requires and we will adapt to these requirements.''

The government has not yet said how many trains are needed for all of its planned mass-transit routes. The Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) said earlier that at least 900 train carriages would be required to serve the government's mass-transit expansion plan by 2016. The cabinet endorsed an investment of 770 billion baht to build nine elevated trains and subways stretching a combined 424 kilometres across the capital.

Mr. Hasselbacher also said that Siemens was willing to welcome partners to invest in the project. ''We always welcome partnerships, especially existing ones, which means all business partners, customers and project owners we have been doing business with already,'' he said.

Siemens is a supplier of the existing three elevated and subway routes in Bangkok. In terms of the local content requirement, Mr. Hasselbacher said Siemens would try to source local materials as much as possible. ''But some components may need to be imported if they are not available in Thailand.''

Hiranya Suchinai, an adviser to the Board of Investment (BOI), said Siemens had approached the agency for investment incentives to be granted to the local train assembly facility in Thailand. Such an investment would be eligible for tax exemptions for imported machinery and plastic as well as metal parts, she said. ''The BOI has promoted this kind of investment to encourage technology transfer to Thailand and import substitution,'' she added.

Bangkok Post, 12.05.2008

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