At the Head Office of Department of Rural Roads, on July 9, 2020, Mr. Auttapol Rerkpiboon, President and Chief Executive Officer, PTT Public Company Limited (PTT) and Mr. Pathom Chaloeywares, Director-General of the Department of Rural Roads (DRR) presided over the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding on the cooperation in studying the construction and development of natural gas grids. Signatories were Mr. Manop Susing, Deputy Director General of the Department of Rural Roads and Mr. Sahathep Thammathat, PTT's Executive Vice President of Natural Gas Pipeline Systems.
Mr. Auttapol Rerkpiboon, PTT's President and Chief Executive Officer revealed that PTT's success in building long-term energy security for the country is partly due to the support of the Department of Rural Roads, which has assisted in the laying of natural gas pipelines in the DRR areas. PTT’s major natural gas pipeline projects are located along the area of DRR, such as the 5th Onshore Natural Gas Pipeline project on the rural roads in Rayong, Chonburi, Chachoengsao, Pathumthani, Ayutthaya and Nonthaburi provinces. The cooperation under this MOU focuses on studying the relevant project plans for integration, the solutions to common problems such as the systemization and dismantling of natural gas grids in rural highways, as well as supporting coordination and exchange of knowledge information between the two organizations. The activities will support the core missions of both parties to achieve their objectives accordingly.
Mr. Pathom Chaloeywares, Director-General of the DRR said that the DRR is an agency under the Ministry of Transport with an important role in the development of transportation infrastructure. In addition, the DRR aims to assist the construction of natural gas grids to support energy infrastructure because it recognizes the importance of integrating the plan, as well as the common solutions between both organizations. Furthermore, it has taken into account the safety of users through related laws. The signing of the MOU today is an important step towards the efficient development of infrastructure of both transport and energy for the benefit of Thai people.