The first contract for a new privatised elevated light rail transit project would be signed within the next eight months, he told Reuters in an interview.

Bhichit, the elected governor of Thailand's capital city of about 12 million people and head of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), said privatisation was required because the city lacked expertise to deal with environmental problems.

Bangkok is renewed for its massive traffic jams, unfinished elevated rail and construction projects, high levels of pollution and notorious flash floods during the rainy season.

"We are looking at three principles of participation. Firstly full privatisation, 100 per cent ownedand they build themselves and run themselves," he said.

"Secondly we look at the concept of becoming partners with them... the third alternative is we invest ourselves, we build and they operate," he added.

The BMA recently set up a one stop shop called Bangkok One to coordinate investment projects in the city.

Among the first projects available will be part of a $370-million dollar elevated light railway running through a planned new financial area in the south central area.

Bhichit said that he expected cabinet approval for the 14.5-km (9-mile) system, which will be partly financed by the BMA, within the next two to three weeks with a deal to be signed next year.

"We need approval from the cabinet and then we can go out for the bidding and we have to invest in infrastructure, part of it, the pillar or platforms. The private sector can come and put the rails on, the system on, the body and the car on," he said.

Italian-Thai Development Plc, which the governor has criticised for its hazardousconstruction of Bangkok's as yet incomplete first mass transit system, was banned from tendering on the elevated light rail scheme, he said.

"They did not perform, but not only Italian-Thai, 91 companies have been banned from tendering for jobs for us... I don't just want to focus on only one of them," he said.

Bhichit said that the BMA had approval to organise seven of the 11 planned transport feeder systems to service Bangkok's mass transit rail and subway systems, which are being built.

Also slated for privatisation worth about 11 billion baht were five main waste water treatment facilities begun in the mid-1990s, of which one is currently complete.

"At this moment we want to rethink about how we are going to privatise all this out... we are going to look at all five of them to be privatised," Bhichit said.

He said a contract to complete an 85 km (50 mile) flood prevention dyke along the city's Chao Phraya river and major canals, of which 21 km (13 miles) was already dug, was also slated for aseven billion baht sell off.

Three major projects to treat about 70 per cent of the 8,500 tonnes of solid waste produced by the city every day would also be privatised, he said.

"This will cost around 34 billion baht.. it will handled bout 6,000 tonnes of solid waste everyday... we do not put up the money ourselves they must invest and we pay them tipping fee," he said.

Garbage collection and dust collection services would follow for about two billion baht, he said. The BMA owns and maintains 2,000 garbage trucks.

Bhichit has two years left in office, after which another election would be held for a new governor.