The Transport Ministry has threatened to cancel the contract for the construction of a terminal building at Narathiwat airport due to delays.
The Department of Airports contracted a joint venture enterprise, comprising OSO Engineering Company and China Railway No 10 Engineering Group (Thailand), to build the terminal.
The ministry has also threatened to blacklist the two companies from bidding for government projects in the future.
China Railway No 10 Engineering Group (Thailand) is a sub contractor of the building under construction in Chatuchak district, Bangkok that collapsed due to the impact of the earthquake in Myanmar on March 28. The Thai government is investigating to know the real cause of the building.
Deputy Minister Manaporn Charoensri said today that the contract to build the terminal, at a cost of about 640 million baht, was signed on March 15, 2022, and was due to expire on January 16 this year. Due to heavy flooding last year, the contract was, however, extended.
Manaporn disclosed, though, that construction has been proceeding very slowly and remains behind schedule, prompting the Department of Airports to summon the joint venture’s managements for a discussion on March 4th.
It was made clear to the contractor(s) that, if they cannot advance the project by 5% per month in the next 8 weeks, the contract will be cancelled and the two companies may be blacklisted.
The deputy transport minister also said that the department has notified their consulting company to proceed with quality checks of the construction standards, materials and machinery used in the project and to report back within three days.
Scrutiny of projects undertaken by China Railway No 10 Engineering Group (Thailand), or by its joint ventures with Thai companies, has been increased, following the collapse of the State Audit Office building, the construction of which was undertaken by this Chinese firm in a joint venture with Italian-Thai Development (ITD).
