Apirak: Inquiry shows bidding process clean
SUPOJ WANCHAROEN
City Hall's inquiry found no irregularities in the awarding of the flood-tunnel contract which a Japanese firm claims it won by bribing officials during the tenure of then governor Samak Sundaravej.
Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin said yesterday there was nothing suspicious in the information about the deal which city clerk Pongsak Semsant had presented to him.
The information would be forwarded to the National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC), he said.
The information gathered by Mr Pongsak came from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's database.
Mr Pongsak said it covered the bidding process, a selection panel, tendering of bids and related legal disputes.
Japanese newspapers reported last week that a Nishimatsu Construction executive admitted to Japanese prosecutors that the company had given a bribe of more than 400 million yen (125 million baht) to "Thai officials" to win the project in Bangkok.
The two-billion-baht project, aimed at relieving flooding in the capital with tunnels to drain water into Saen Saep and Lat Phrao canals, was initiated in 2003 when Mr Samak was governor and completed last year.
Mr Apirak said the information published in the Japanese press was not available to the BMA. The city had requested it from the Japanese embassy and the Foreign Affairs Ministry, but has not received a reply.
Nishimatsu Construction's Bangkok office had no information about the alleged graft, he said.
The city clerk and the drainage and sewerage department chief, Charnchai Withoonpanyakit, would explain the controversial project to the NCCC and the House committee on the suppression of corruption, he said.
The project was intended to solve constant flooding over around 150 square kilometres in Huai Khwang, Bang Kapi, Bung Kum, Lat Phrao, Suan Luang and Saphan Sung districts.
Five bidders filed technical proposals and price quotations as required in the normal bidding procedure. Three companies were shortlisted.
Nishimatsu Construction's consortium with Italian-Thai Development Plc was selected as it made the lowest bid. After negotiation, the consortium agreed to cut the price to 2,094 million baht, or 71 million baht below the reference price. The contract was signed in September 2003.
One bidder, Si Sang Karn Yotah (1979) Co, took the case to the Central Administrative Court in July 2003, accusing the BMA of unfairly dropping it from the project. The court dismissed the construction giant's claims the technical requirements were unlawful and members of the selection panel had close ties with other bidders.
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