The falling of the skyscraper in Bangkok on Friday when a massive 7.7 magnitude quake hit Myanmar may have come as a surprise for many, however, an anti-corruption watchdog had warned about the irregularities in its construction, reported news agency Reuters.
The head of the Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand, Mana Nimitmongkol, told Reuters on Sunday that the government had threatened to shut the construction because of the delay. The anti-corruption body examines around 170 government projects around Thailand.
Also read: Chinese men caught stealing documents from building collapse site in Bangkok
The 30-storey highrise building, which had been under construction since 2020, was being built to serve as the country’s State Audit Office. On Friday, when a deadly earthquake hit Myanmar, the building was the only highrise in Bangkok that fell due to its impact. At least 11 people died and 76 people have been missing since the collapse. Rescue ops are still on, looking for people trapped under the debris of the collapsed building.
Construction was behind schedule
The building was supposed to be finished by 2026, however, it was still just 30 per cent completed when it collapsed on Friday, Reuters reported citing Sutthipong Boonnithi, deputy auditor general.
The construction of the building was being carried out in collaboration by Italian Thai Development PCL and China Railway Number 10 (Thailand) Ltd, which is a local subsidiary of the China Railway Group.
Also read: Only 1 building fell in Bangkok during Myanmar quake: About the China construction firm in focus
According to Mana, his anti-corruption group had raised concerns about the delay in construction, worker shortages and potential corner-cutting after visiting the site. “Sometimes the number of workers on site were much fewer than there should be, causing delays…Potentially there was a rush to complete the project towards the end, which could cause a drop in the standard of work,” he said.
He also added that the construction was so behind the schedule that the State Audit Office had threatened to cancel the contract earlier this year in January. However, when Reuters asked the office to confirm whether any such threat was issued, the company did not respond. It said it will investigate the collapse though.
The two construction contractors – Italian Thai Development and China Railway Group – also did not respond to the incident.
Probe ordered
Bangkok is a city that dons multiple skyscrapers, however, no other highrise suffered such damage. The collapse, which resulted in multiple deaths and had people sleeping in relief camps while looking for their loved ones, prompted the order of an immediate seven-day probe by Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
The probe team is looking into multiple aspects that could have faltered and led to the tragedy, including construction plan, quality of the material used and possible unsafe action during the construction, the Reuters report said.
China has assured that it will cooperate in the probe.
Thailand’s industry minister, Akanat Promphan, hinted at use of sub-standard steel in the construction of the project while talking to Reuters. He led a team to collect samples from the collapse site which are being tested.
In a crackdown on steel companies producing sub-standard steel over the past six months, seven factories were shut down and assets worth millions were seized, the minister informed.
“Many of these factories used an old production process and equipment relocated from China…This has led to sub-standard steel,” he said.
(With Reuters inputs)
