"Pachari" of Thai Sang Thai criticized the idea of ??"Thaksin" buying the electric train concession from the private sector to manage it himself. It may be an excuse to allow the public to use the electric train at 20 baht for every line, but the private sector licks its lips because it gets two benefits. Mr. Patchari Nijsiriphat, Economic Working Group and Treasurer of Thai Sang Thai Party, said after listening to the vision presentation of Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra, former Prime Minister, that there were many interesting issues and matters. He also praised him for having a good vision in many aspects and if he could do it, it would be a good thing for Thailand. But most of the visions are projections that favor big capitalists. There must be objections, such as opinions on expropriating electric trains or buying back concession contracts from private companies so that the government can manage them itself or hire private companies to manage them, with the goal of collecting 20 baht fares for the entire rout e, according to the campaign policy. Let me ask, is this idea of ??the greatest benefit for the people or for the capitalists who own the concession? Normally, in long-term investments such as electric trains worth tens of billions or tens of billions of baht, the private sector will seek profits, but will have to wait for a period of time before they can recoup their investment. For the fare, it is an important condition specified in the concession contract. It is normal for the state to receive a concession fee to collect revenue into the treasury, while the private sector will manage under a long-term contract. This type of investment requires careful cost-effectiveness analysis. If it is done well and many people use the service, the investment will be returned quickly. Of course, there is risk in investment. Therefore, when the state grants a concession to the private sector, it is a way to reduce risk. They do not have to bear the burden themselves and do not have to manage themselves. On the other h and, if the government has an idea to expropriate or buy back the business to manage itself, following the idea of ??former Prime Minister Thaksin, in order to reduce the fare price to be in line with the campaign policy, it may mean taking a large sum of money from the people's taxes to give to the private sector. Of course, no one will accept expropriation at a loss. In addition, the private sector will not have to bear the risk of getting a large sum of money back from buying back the concession, plus they will also get money from the government's management fee. 'If the state is willing to pay a high price to buy it back, it would be like helping the capitalists who own the electric trains because according to the contract, it takes a long time to get the investment back. But suddenly the state comes to expropriate in a short period of time. The private sector can relax. When the state has the right to manage, of course, the ticket price can be set as much as they want, such as 20 baht for the entire lin e. But if it does it and loses money, in the end it might be like the BMTA or the State Railway of Thailand that have huge accumulated debts,' said Mr. Patchari. Mr. Patchari emphasized that in the end, the state may have to use the people's tax money to support them. The people who will smile first are the concession owners who the state has used a large sum of money to buy back and may continue to hire for management. Therefore, this policy may benefit the private sector twice. Therefore, I would like to raise an observation and unease about whether this policy is for capitalists or the public. Because if there is a problem of accumulated losses, the state will sell back to the private sector. No one will dare to buy at a high price. In the end, it will become a financial burden and the public's tax money will have to be used to pay back. In fact, there are other ways to reduce the fares, such as the state returning the revenue share to the people, and negotiating with the private sector to reduce some o f the profits from charging expensive fares, especially the central city lines that have received concessions and have long since recovered their investment, and also renewing contracts that are advantageous to the state, resulting in the burden of excessively expensive fares up until today. Source: Thai News Agency