The House of Representatives on Wednesday met to discuss an urgent motion filed in response to the deadly collapse of an elevated road under construction on Luang Phaeng Road on Monday evening.
Theerarat Samrejvanich, Pheu Thai Party MP for Bangkok, filed another urgent motion in the meeting, chaired by House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, asking for cooperation from related agencies to brainstorm ideas to find the cause and ways of preventing similar tragedies from recurring following the collapsed road in Lat Krabang district.
Ms Theerarat urged related agencies to provide appropriate compensation to all affected people as the 3,500 baht the companies gave the accident victims to cover their monthly house rent was deemed insufficient.
She urged those parties responsible for building the road to boost the confidence of motorists.
Move Forward Party (MFP) list-MP Surachet Praweewongwut said concerned agencies should collect more data and evidence in order to learn from the incident.
A joint consortium comprising two construction companies must also face a review to see if they are still considered fit to undertake such work.
Mr Surachet said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) should explain why it allowed the contractors to directly use precast concrete components from a factory in lieu of on-site moulding as stipulated by the contract. They should also explain how closely they supervised the project, he added.
Also on Wednesday, Surajit Pongsingwittaya, a Pheu Thai councillor for Lat Krabang district, proposed an urgent motion to the Bangkok Metropolitan Council to form an extraordinary committee to monitor other large infrastructure projects under the BMA.
Most of the Bangkok councillors reportedly agreed with the proposal.
However, it was opposed by Napapon Chirakul, the Democrat councillor for Bangkok Noi district, who claimed the formation of such a committee would interfere with the work of the BMA’s Committee on Public Works and Utilities, which is in charge of regulating large-scale projects in Bangkok.
“Based on this incident, I agree with forming a committee to only inspect the collapsed elevated road in Lat Krabang district,” he said.
“However, I am against the move to inspect all the other projects in Bangkok as that would get in the way of the work of the Committee on Public Works and Utilities,” added Mr Napapon who chairs the committee.