Contractors ignoring deadlines, construction standards and public safety in the building of the Rama II Road expressway will be downgraded by the state budget office, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on Monday.
Comptroller General's Department director-general Patricia Mongkhonvanit was summoned meet the prime minister on Monday to address the issue and consider measures to penalise errant contractors, following a series of problems on Rama II Road.
"The problems arising from the delays in the construction work on Rama II Road continue to have somewhat serious effects on people. They must be fixed," Mr Srettha said afterwards, before departing for Melbourne for the Asean-Australia summit.
The prime minister said any firm failing to meet the deadline of the project, or whose work was substandard would be "downgraded".
"This proposed punishment will encourage them to pay more attention and take more responsibility for their work on construction projects," he said.
The Comptroller General's Department must approve the budget for all projects undertaken for the state.
Mr Srettha did not make it clear if the proposed punishment would cover both the major contractors and subcontractors, and did not explain what "downgrading" involved. Construction firms winning a major project normally subcontract much of the work to smaller companies, dividing it into various sections.
Rama II Road is the main and most direct road connecting Bangkok with the southern region, including the resort town of Hua Hin. This government and its predecessor agree that congestion on Rama II hurts tourism as local and foreign holiday-makers opt for other destinations to avoid being stuck in a traffic jam
The construction of an expressway above the road from Bangkok to Samut Sakhon is intended to cut travel time, but delays in the work and the frequent mishaps and road closures have caused even more congestion, especially on weekends and long public holidays.
Some construction accidents have resulted in fatalities. The most recent one was on Jan 18 when a sling broke, killing a worker and causing the crane's lifting basket to fall. In May last year, a worker was killed by a falling concrete slab.
The new expressway's construction is divided into 10 contracts. Work started in February 2002 and was supposed to be completed in January next year. The main contractor has already sought and been given a six-month extension to June 2025.
Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit told reporters last Tuesday that the delays were due to the contractors having liquidity problems after they were hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the Highways Department not allowing work during rush hours.
The transport minister said on Tuesday the government was considering using a score card to evaluate them after they hand over the completed project to the state. Contractors with low scores could be blacklisted from future bidding, Mr Suriya said.