Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) and Bangkok Expressway and Metro Public Company Limited (BEM) welcomed a delegation of executives from the Embassy of Japan in Thailand and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and media, led by Mr. Tatsushi Nishioka, Deputy Chief of Mission and Minister, on the occasion of their visit to the depot of the M.R.T. Chalong Ratchadham Line (MRT Purple Line) at Khlong Bang Phai Station.

According to the 70th anniversary of the Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) in Thailand, the Embassy of Japan in Thailand and JICA jointly organized an event to bring the media to visit the cooperation projects between Thailand and Japan under the support of JICA. Previously, MRTA has received good support from JICA in the development of the M.R.T. Chaloem Ratchamongkhon Line (MRT Blue Line), which is the first underground railway in Thailand. The operation was successfully completed and led to the cooperation in the next project, the MRT Purple Line Project, which is one of the finance cooperation projects between Thai and Japanese governments in the form of a loan totaling 79,081 million yen, covering the cost of civil construction and the cost of project management consultants and supervision (elevated railway structure and stations, depot, park and ride facilities, and M&E systems). In addition, MRTA has also received cooperation from JICA in transferring and exchanging knowledge on train operations and technologies to promote the efficiency of the staff to have expertise and train service standards comparable to Japan in terms of safety, punctuality, and convenience so that train users receive good service and have confidence in using MRTA's service.