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Govt Criticized for Allowing Repeat Contractors After 130+ Deaths

Govt Criticized for Allowing Repeat Contractors After 130+ Deaths

Thairath•Politics•1d ago

Reader Briefing

Lawmaker Supanart condemns the government for permitting a construction company with a record of over 130 fatalities to continue bidding on public projects.

  • •Phak Prachachon MP Supanart Meenchaiyanant criticized the government's failure to regulate major construction projects.
  • •He highlighted that Italian-Thai, a company linked to over 130 deaths in the past year, is still allowed to bid for new government contracts.
  • •Supanart urged for an independent committee and blacklisting of contractors with poor safety records.

Overview

  • •On May 29, 2026, Supanart Meenchaiyanant presented a motion in the House of Representatives.
  • •The motion concerns the establishment of a special committee to investigate large-scale construction projects with issues or public impact.
  • •Over 130 people have died in construction projects by Italian-Thai within the past year.
  • •Supanart stated that companies responsible for over 130 deaths are still eligible to bid on government construction projects.
  • •The lack of proper auditing and accountability mechanisms allows companies with a history of fatalities to continue operating freely.
  • •The government's promised contractor 'passbook' regulation, intended to improve oversight, has been repeatedly delayed since 2024.
  • •Delays in investigation results, with some cases taking up to 8 months without full disclosure, suggest a pattern of shielding contractors.
  • •The current system fails to adequately penalize contractors with poor safety records, leading to recurrent fatal accidents.

Full article content is available on the original source.

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Source: Thairath (Original)

Key Quotes

ศุภณัฐ มีนชัยนันท์
"Although the Prime Minister stated Parliament would not favor Sino-Thai company and would act if wrong, the committee list shows a very small proportion of outsiders."
แม้นายกรัฐมนตรีจะเคยแถลงในสภาว่าจะไม่เอื้อกับบริษัทซิโน-ไทย และพร้อมช่วยกระทืบหากผิดจริง และจะให้การตั้งคณะกรรมการโดยกระทรวงคมนาคมเป็นอิสระในการตรวจสอบ แต่เมื่อดูรายชื่อคณะกรรมการกลับพบว่ามีสัดส่วนของคนนอกน้อยมาก
ศุภณัฐ มีนชัยนันท์
"Projects by Italian-Thai have resulted in over 130 deaths. Despite the PM announcing contract cancellation after the Sikhiu crane collapse, it wasn't cancelled with Italian-Thai."
โครงการที่ก่อสร้างโดย บ.อิตาเลียน-ไทย มีผู้เสียชีวิตรวมกันมากกว่า 130 ราย ย้อนไปถึงเหตุเครนถล่มที่ อ.สีคิ้ว จ.นครราชสีมา นายกรัฐมนตรีแถลงข่าวว่าสั่งให้ยกเลิกสัญญาแล้ว แต่ก็ปรากฏว่าไม่ได้มีการยกเลิกสัญญากับ บ.อิตาเลียน-ไทย แต่อย่างไร
ศุภณัฐ มีนชัยนันท์
"This means companies whose construction projects caused over 130 deaths still have the right to bid on any government construction projects in Thailand."
หมายความว่าบริษัทที่ดำเนินการก่อสร้างที่มีผู้เสียชีวิตกว่า 130 ราย ยังคงมีสิทธิประมูลงานโครงการก่อสร้างของภาครัฐได้ทุกโครงการในประเทศไทย

Key Entities

Person

Supanart(ศุภณัฐ)
Member of Parliament for Bangkok and proponent of a motion to investigate large construction projects.
Prime Minister(นายกรัฐมนตรี)
The head of government whose statements on contractor accountability and committee appointments are cited.

Organization

Phak Prachachon(พรรคประชาชน)
Political party that proposed a motion to establish a special committee for construction project oversight.
House of Representatives(สภาผู้แทนราษฎร)ℹ️
Legislative body where a motion for investigating construction projects was discussed.
BMA(กทม.)ℹ️
One of the government agencies overseeing large construction projects mentioned in the article.
Department of Highways(กรมทางหลวง)ℹ️
One of the government agencies overseeing large construction projects mentioned in the article.
Expressway Authority of Thailand(การทางพิเศษฯ)ℹ️
One of the government agencies overseeing large construction projects mentioned in the article.
OCR(สตง.)ℹ️
One of the government agencies overseeing large construction projects mentioned in the article.
MRTA(รฟม.)ℹ️
One of the government agencies overseeing large construction projects mentioned in the article.
SRT(รฟท.)ℹ️
One of the government agencies overseeing large construction projects mentioned in the article.
Sino-Thai Company(บริษัท ซิโน-ไทย)
A company that the Prime Minister previously stated would not be favored.
Ministry of Transport(กระทรวงคมนาคม)ℹ️
Government ministry that was tasked with forming an independent committee for investigations.
Italian-Thai Company(บ.อิตาเลียน-ไทย)
A construction company responsible for projects resulting in over 130 deaths in the past year.
Independent Committee(คณะกรรมการอิสระ)
A proposed body to investigate construction projects, free from the oversight of the responsible ministry.

Place

Vajira Hospital(รพ.วชิระ)
Location of a sinkhole incident that occurred over 8 months prior to the article.
Chok Chai District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province(อ.สีคิ้ว จ.นครราชสีมา)ℹ️
Location of a crane collapse incident involving Italian-Thai Company.

Law

Contractor Passbook Regulation(สมุดพกผู้รับเหมา)
A proposed regulation aimed at improving contractor accountability, which has been repeatedly delayed.