Workers are handling dismantled structures of the Hopewell mass transit project near Vibhavadi Rangsit Road in Bangkok in 2013. (Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)The loss-ridden State Railway of Thailand (SRT) is counting on the government's help to settle the 11.88 billion baht in compensation it has been ordered to pay Hopewell over the cancellation of a large-scale transport project two decades ago. On Tuesday, Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith was due to attend an urgent meeting with SRT executives about the Hopewell case and the legal issues involved in the payout. The "Hopewell Project" was signed on Nov 9, 1990, when the late Montri Pongpanit was the transport minister in Chatichai Choonhavan's government. The contract was officially terminated on Jan 27, 1998, by the Chuan Leekpai-led Democrat government, when Suthep Thaugsuban was the transport minister.

Source: Bangkok Post April 23, 2019 23:26 UTC