City Hall has defended the price it paid for Bangkok's closed-circuit TV system after procurement contracts for the system were shared online.
The contracts showed the value of the CCTV network in an itemised list.
Bangkok deputy governor Amorn Kitchawengkul yesterday said the contract for the CCTV system, made in 2010, was transparent.
He also said the contract was examined by the Office of the Auditor-General of Thailand, the Office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission and the Department of Special Investigation.
Social media users shared the terms of reference from a procurement contract worth 22.9 million baht taken from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's (BMA) website last week.
Mr Amorn said the social media users were confused about the two procurement contracts and some thought City Hall planned to buy more closed-circuit cameras and equipment for the system, which is not the case.
He said the 22.9 million baht is a procurement contract for the maintenance of the city's CCTV system for next year. The BMA needs a company to carry out the maintenance work once the three-year warranty period expires, he said.
The deputy governor said the maintenance fee had to be between eight and 11% of the price paid for the equipment.
The value of the cameras and equipment, bought in 2010, therefore had to be indicated in the new ToR for the maintenance work.
Mr Amorn also said the city's CCTV hard disk, which cost 800,000 baht, is a SAN (storage area network) and it is different from an external hard disk for home use. Social media users had said they could buy a hard disk with the same storage capacity, 4TB, for 6,950 baht and they shared a website to show where.
The BMA bought 19 CCTV hard disks to be used in Bangkok.
Mr Amorn said the BMA is ready for public scrutiny on its work and procurement contracts.
Internet users uncovered the contracts after the controversy surrounding the poor image quality of cameras from the bombing at Erawan shrine.
