Bangkok--Dec 8--Hopewell Holdings
Hopewell Thailand Limited said on December 6, 1997 that it would
not be making a scheduled annual payment of 600 million baht to the State
Railway of Thailand (SRT).
Director of Hopewell Thailand, Mr. Colin Weir, said the company
would hold back the money, as it was entitled to under the terms of the
contract, because the SRT had not handed over land to Hopewell as planned.
The annual payments are for Hopewell's concession rights for the
Bangkok Elevated Road and Train System. Hopewell has made seven previous
annual payments on time, totalling US$114 billion.
Mr. Weir said : "The money we have previously paid to the SRT more
than covers the scheduled handover of land to date. The contract allows
for deferral payment when land is not handed over. This is what has
happened."
The Bangkok Elevated Road and Train System (BERTS) will porvide
the people of Bangkok with a low cost, effective mass transit system that
will ease the chronic traffic congestion in Bangkok. Hopewell Holdings is
a leading developer of major Asian infrastructure with projects throughout
the region.
Contact
Hong Kong: Rosemary Sayer, (852) 9096-4432
Paul Marriage, (852) 9026-4275
Bangkok: Paterson & Partners Thailand Limited
Public Relations Department, (662) 637-0270-9
End.