The first group of Chinese engineers assigned to attend training programmes for the construction of the Thai-Chinese high-speed railway have all passed mandatory exams issued by Thailand's Council of Engineers (COE), according to the council's president Kamol Takabut.
Mr Kamol said 77 out of the estimated 400 Chinese engineers commissioned for the railway project took the exams late last month. They have been separated into four groups, each of which will be subjected to the same training programmes and testing methods.
The first phase of the high-speed railway project will connect Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima. Initial construction plans for a 3.5km stretch are set to begin next month.
In July, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha invoked Section 44 to expedite the construction of the high-speed railway's first phase, by allowing Chinese engineers and architects to work in Thailand.
The invocation prompted an exemption to the Foreign Business Act 1999, which reserved domestic civil engineering and architecture exclusively for Thai nationals.
Late last month, the first group of Chinese engineers attended training programmes for the project in Tianjin, China, Mr Kamol said.
He added the exams were given during the training course, which lasted four days. They were separated into two categories, each requiring a 60% mark to pass.
The remaining three groups of engineers are also set to attend the training programmes during October and November.
After passing the exams, the engineers will be given a certificate allowing them to work on the project's first phase, according to COE secretary-general Amorn Pimanmas.
However, he said the certificates will not allow the engineers to work on other jobs while in the country, citing that they do not count as official work permits.
According to Mr Amorn, the initial 77 Chinese engineers had handled the training programmes and examinations positively.
"The engineers who attended our training programmes expressed a high level of interest and enthusiasm throughout the course," he said.
"They arrived on time, and asked several questions about our local conditions and legal processes."
Meanwhile, training programmes for 17 Chinese architects to oversee the high-speed railway's overall design are set to commence this month, said Architect Council of Thailand (ACT) president Jedkamchorn Phromyothi.
According to him, the training programmes will include exams that will observe the same scoring standards as the COE's.
He added Thai architects will also be added to the project in the future, although the exact number of architects to be included has not yet been agreed upon.
Prabhakorrn Vadanyakul, an ACT board member, said the Chinese architects will be taken on trips to Thailand to visit the actual locations of future train stations along the planned railway.
"The stations themselves should observe a Thai aesthetic value, and feature designs that are unique to the respective local areas," Mr Prabhakorn said.
