Announcement of World Bank to Aid Bangkok Traffic Project on December 14, 1978

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE,.-. • .World Bank ""' ' I •( E. 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.• Telephone: (202) 477-1234 BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 79/30 December 14, 1978 WORLD BANK TO AID BANGKOK TRAFFIC PROJECT A project to unsnarl traffic jams and speed up the flow of traffic in Bangkok, one of Asia's largest cities, will be carried out with the support of a $16 million loan, the World Bank announced today. The $34 million Bangkok Traffic Management Project is expected to make the Thai capital 1 s existing transportation system more efficient with minimum investments and to strengthen the institutions which have a direct bearing on improving traffic. The traffic -ituation in Bangkok (population 4.8 million) has deteriorated to the point where congestion is placing serious obstacles on the continued economic development of the city. The costs of travel {measured in time spent • in vehicles and vehicle operating costs) are very high and promise to climb still higher. The principal objectives, therefore, of the project are to increase travel speeds and the capacity of vehicles to carry passengers under the existing transportation system to facilitate the continued economic development of Bangkok, without diverting scarce resources from other high priority develop- ment activities in Thailand. The project consists of specific policies to discourage the use of low occupancy vehicles, to strengthen the traffic management, to introduce low-cost measures to increase the capacity of the urban road network, and to improve the management and operation of public transport. Policy Measures To reduce the demand for road space and ensure that any expansion in road capacity will not attract additional traffic and leave road congestion much as before, the project includes a scheme to charge vehicles directly for the use of roads in central Bangkok. Charges for parking on streets will be increased and the enforcement of parking regulations will be improved. A program of staggered working and school hours will be introduced by the government for all public offices and schools beginning in the central area. The government will also seek similar commit- ments from large firms and private schools in the same area . • NOTE: Money figures are expressed in U.S. dollar equivalents. . •. I  - 2 - Strengthening Traffic Management The staff of the Urban Transportation Planning Office (UTPO), which will carry out the project, will be increased from the 70 people now • assigned to it to ·some 200 permanent staff, including transport planners, ;· economists, and engineers. The unit will also be strengthened through the provision o~ technical assistance in administration and development as well as in project design. Technical assistance will also be provided to UTPO to assist it in advising the general public on the rationale and pur- pose of the various policy measures to be introduced. Permanent and temporary traffic counting stations, equipment for measuring traffic speeds, and air pollution and noise detection equipment wiii aiso be provided to UTPO. .., radio communi- Under the project, equipment including motorcycles and cations will be provided to the traffic police to enhance their mobility and to reduce the need for point duty at individual junctions. Consultant services will be provided for establishing appropriate training courses for t raff i c po 1 i ce • The Thai government's Five-Year Economic and Social Development Plan places a high priority on the need to develop regional cities as alternatives • to Bangkok as areas of urban growth. The project includes the provision of technical assistance for the µre- paration of regional cities development projects outside the project area to formulate a strategy for making these cities more attractive to new and ex- panding industrial concerns. Increasing Road Capacity The project will provide for improvements in traffic control through coordination of traffic signals at 92 junctions, upgrading of existing signals, and the further installation of signals at new intersections. Road flyovers will be constructed at principal road intersections where the greatest time savings can be realized once traffic management procedures-- i.e. signal timing and intersection channellization--have been improved. The project also includes the construction of ten missing road links, most of which are less than half a kilometer in length. Completion of these links will contribute effectively to the traffic capacity of the main road system. Additional capacity will be provided through selected road widening, junction improvement, and improved road signs and road marking. ... I •  - 3 - • Improving Public Transport To improve public transport availability and speeds, measures will be introduced to give buses priority. About 100 kilometers of bus lanes will be provided along roads where traffic queues are the longest and the highest volumes of bus passengers are carried. About 40 extended bus bays and 100 bus shelters will also be constructed, and other measures will be introduced to give priority to buses and pedestrians on selected streets. Consultants will assist the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) in organizing management, traffic operations, accounting, and finance. While the technical assistance will cover almost all aspects of BMTA operations, special focus will be on traffic operations, including rationalization of routes and schedules, management and management information systems, and establishment of a long-term financial policy. The World Bank loan to this first urban traffic management project in Thailand is for 20 years, including 5 years of grace, with interest at 7.35% per annum. - 0 - • • FORM NO. 1121 (5-76) T E C HN I CA L D A T A • PROJECT: Bangkok Traffic Management COUNTRY: Kingdom of Thailand TOTAL COST; $34 mi 11 ion BANK FI NANC I NG : $16 million, for 20 years, including 5 years of grace, with interest at 7.35% per annum. OTHER FINANCING: Government of Thailand IMPLEMENTING ORGANIZ/\T!ON: Urban Transportation Planning Office (UTPO) Office of Policy and Planning Ministry of Interior Bangkok, Thailand PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The purpose of the project is to make Bangkok 1 s existing transportation system more efficient with minimum additional investments and to strengthen appropriate traffic related institutions. The project consists of: (a) specific policies to discourage the use of low-occupancy vehicles including area pricing, parking controls, and staggering of working and school hours; (b) strengthening of urban traffic management through provision of technical assistance, training, and traffic monitoring equipment; (c) low-cost measures to increase the capacity of the urban road links, street widenlng, junction improvements, and improved • road signing; and (d) improvement of the management and operation of public transport through technical assistance and training. PROCUREMENT: Civil works contracts for flyovers (about $10.5 million) will be awarded after international competitive bidding (ICB) in accordance with Bank guidelines. All other civil works contracts (about $7 million) are too small and diverse to interest foreign bidders. These contracts will be awarded following competitive bidding advertised locally, and contracting procedures acceptable to the Bank will be followed. With the exception of a part of the traffic signal equip- ment for which the government has negotiated a contract, all contracts for equipment estimated to cost $150,000 or more and totaling about $1.5 million, will be awarded on the basis of ICB in accordance with Bank guidelines. A preference margin equal to 15% of the c.i .f. cost of competing imports or the customs duty, whtchever ts lower, wtll be granted to local manufacturers. Smaller equipment and vehicle contracts, totaling about $500,000, will not be attractive to foreign bidders. They will be awarded on the basis of competitive bidding advertised locally in accordance with contracting procedures acceptable to the Bank. The government has signed a contract with Traffic Engineering Systems Limited, a Thai company associated with GEC-Elliott Traffic Automation, UK, for procurement and installation of a traffic control system in Bangkok. In addition to the above traffic signal control system, modernization of about 70 existing signalized inter- sections and about 20 new signal installations at intersections currently not served and located outside the central area of Bangkok, will also be part of the project. Because procurement of this equipment is less urgent, the government will award the corresponding contract on the basis of ICB in accordance with Bank guidelines . • . .. I  - 2 - CONSULTANTS: For administration, development, and project design for UTPO (120 man-months); for assisting UTPO in advising the general public on the rationale and purpose of the • various policy measures to be introduced (6 man-months); for establishing training courses for the traffic police (18 man-months); for preparing regional cities development projects outside the project area (100 man-months); and for assisting the Bangkok Metropolitan Transit Authority (75 man-months). ECONOMIC RATE OF RETURN: 56% (not including policy aspects) 140% (with policy aspects) ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: 1981 - 0 - • •