Thailand has announced multiple transport sector PPP projects in 2021, primarily for development of urban rail systems and inter-city toll roads. We also observe interest from large Thai conglomerates outside of their core business, for development of PPP projects in new sectors. Renewable energy sector has seen some activity for both greenfield and brownfield projects, albeit on a smaller scale compared to other ASEAN countries.
Read more about key developments in Infrastructure and PPPs in Q12021 in Thailand in our latest insight.
JAN - 21
THAI FIRM SEEKS TO ACQUIRE RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
Absolute Clean Energy will seek to acquire renewables projects this year. The Bangkok-listed company is interested in acquiring both brownfield and greenfield biomass and other types of renewable energy projects in Thailand and abroad to reach its target of 1 GW of energy capacity by 2024.
The company had a total installed capacity of 245 MW at the end of the Q3 2020 across a portfolio of 19 biomass co-generation and solar projects. The company's capital expenditure will range between THB 10bn and THB 15bn (USD 334.6m-USD 502m) for 2021..
The company has a total pipeline of 10 biomass and four hybrid biomass-solar projects with a total capacity of 201 MW in Thailand. All the projects are set to become operational either in 2021 or 2022.
Each biomass project has a price tag of approximately THB 700m and a capacity of 9.9 MW, while the total cost of the four hybrid projects will range between THB 7.4bn and THB 8.3bn.
THAILAND'S ABSOLUTE SIGNS PPA FOR HYBRID PROJECT
Thailand's Absolute Clean Energy has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the country's national utility for its 20 MW biomass-solar hybrid power plant in Kamphaeng Phet province.
The Khlong Khlung SPP-hybrid plant will sell 13.31 MW of capacity to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) in a feed-in tariff (FiT) scheme for 20 years.
Apart from this plant - located in the Khlong Khlung district of Kamphaeng Phet - Absolute owns three other hybrid projects with a combined capacity of 73 MW. These are in talks to sign PPAs. The Khlong Khlung plant is close to a biomass project - Khlong Khlung VSPP biomass - owned by a subsidiary of Absolute Clean Energy. The project, with a capacity of 9.9 MW, is currently being constructed and will sell 8 MW of capacity to the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) under a FiT for 20 years.
TPI POLENE POWER WINS USD 49M WASTE-TO-ENERGY PROJECT
TPI Polene Power (TPIPP) - Thailand’s largest energy-from-waste operator by capacity has been awarded a THB 1.8bn (USD 49m) waste-to-energy project in southern Thailand. The project will process a minimum 400 tons of waste per day, and the concession will last for 20 years. It will be in Songkhla province.
The waste-to-energy project will be supported by a tipping fee of THB 400 per ton, which will increase 10% every three years, and a power purchase agreement of 7.9 MW.
The feed-in-tariff will be of THB 5.78 per Mwh for the first eight years of the PPA, and THB 5.08 for the next 12 years. The project is scheduled to be completed by 2023.
The company is also participating in a tender for another 9.9 MW waste-to-energy project in the Nakhon Ratchasima province, in the north-eastern part of the country. The company is also in talks to acquire a THB 1.9bn waste-to-energy project located in Nakhon Ratchasima province.
TPI Polene, a Thai cement and petrochemicals manufacturer, owns more than 70% of TPIPP, and is the largest buyer of its energy output.
Feb - 21
METRO PACIFIC SELLS STAKE IN THAI TOLL ROAD OPERATOR
Philippines toll road operator Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) has agreed to sell a unit which holds a stake in a Thai elevated toll road for USD 149m.
The buyers for the unit - AIF Toll Roads Holdings (Thailand) - include British Virgin Islands-based Ademas and several Thai investors such as Don Muang Tollways (DMT) Chairman Sombath Phanichewa and members of the Wachirapong family.
AIF owns 24.9% of DMT, which operates a 21.9km toll road in Bangkok. The sale proceed will allow MPTC to finance other projects. The Don Muang Tollway connects central Bangkok with the Don Muang International Airport and the National Monument, in the northern part of the Thai capital. The concession expires in September 2034.
THAI TRAMWAY PPP DELAYED AS FUNDS DIVERTED TO PANDEMIC RELIEF
Thailand's Mass Rapid Transit Authority (MRTA) has decided to delay the tender for a THB 7.1bn (USD 236m) tramway project because state funds have been diverted to combat the effects of COVID-19.
The issuance of terms of reference (ToR) - which precedes bidding - for the Green Line public-private partnership project in the provincial capital of Nakhon Ratchasima is now slated for August 2022 which was earlier planned for launch in June 2021.
The procuring agency is gauging whether private investors would be willing to finance a larger part of the project. Investors were slated to finance the mechanical and engineering work and the rolling stock for the project, while the MRTA was set to fund land acquisition and civil works. The land acquisition will cost THB 1.1bn, while the civil works are projected to cost THB 2.2bn.
The 11km Green Line will include 21 stations, linking the Save One night market with the Narae Sawat Protection and Occupational Development Center in the northwestern part of the city. The MRTA estimated in 2020 a daily ridership of 9,920 passengers for the project.
THAILAND PREPARING USD 99M OF HIGHWAY SERVICE AREA PPPS
Thailand is preparing to tender two public-private partnerships to develop service areas with a total value more than THB 3bn (USD 99m) by the end of the year. Preparatory studies are scheduled to be completed in August 2021. The projects will involve the building of new facilities along a road connecting Bang Pa-in district with Nakhon Ratchasima province (THB 1.6bn), as well as along a road linking the city of Bang Yai with the town of Kanchanaburi (THB 1.4bn). The first project will include the construction of eight rest areas, while the latter involves the building of three rest areas.
Two more projects - a THB 35bn development of an LRT line on Phuket island and a THB 124.7bn Purple Line project in Bangkok - are set to be tendered in 2022.The four projects are considered high priority for the government. The Phuket LRT involves the development of a 42km line with 21 stations, connecting Phuket International Airport with the southern subdistrict of Chalong.
The 23.6km Purple Line project in Bangkok will link Tao Poon MRT station with the Rat Burana district, according to Thailand's Mass Rapid Transit Authority website. The SEPO has decided also to remove 15 projects from a list of 92 PPPs to be developed between 2020 and 2027.
THAI RAIL OPERATOR PLANS BIDS FOR METRO AND ROAD PROJECTS
Thai rail operator Bangkok Expressway and Metro (BEM) plans to bid for at least three PPPs this year, including two road projects. One is a 25km toll expressway that will serve as a gateway to the southern part of the country from Bangkok.
The government flagged eight different high-priority road projects with a total value of THB 35.4bn (USD 1.1bn) that are set to be tendered during the 2020-2027 period.
BEM is also planning to participate in the re-tender of the THB 122bn Orange Line PPP. Thailand's Mass Rapid Transit Authority in February cancelled the tender after a consortium led by BTS Group filed a lawsuit against the changing of bidding criteria.
BEM operates the 48km MRT Blue Line and the 23km Purple Line in Bangkok, and three expressways with a total length of 87km.
The company had THB 1.6bn cash at hand as of the end of 2020.its net profit tumbled 62% to THB 2bn for the year through December 2020, partly due to pandemic-related mobility restrictions. Its daily road traffic and ridership on the Blue Line shrank 15% and 22%, respectively.
Mar-21
SUPER PLANS WASTE-TO-ENERGY PROJECT IN THAILAND
Bangkok-listed Super Energy Corporation will develop a 20 MW waste-to-energy project in southern Thailand. The energy company has signed an agreement to jointly invest in the project with the Nakhon Si Thammarat municipality.
The project will be backed by a 16 MW power purchase agreement with the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, with a feed-in tariff of THB 3.66 per kWh. The contract will have a 20-year duration.
The company posted a net profit of THB 1.3bn in 2020, compared to THB 2.1bn a year earlier. The Thai firm is aiming to have a total of 1.9 GW of energy installed by the end of 2021, including 836 MW of solar capacity. It had a total capacity of 986 MW as of June 2020.
List of Upcoming PPP Projects - Thailand Q1-2021
Source: Inframation, YOG INFRA analysis
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