Rukchanok Srinork, a People's Party (PP) MP for Bangkok, has accused the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) of "incompetence" and misspending after abandoning its plan to build a multi-billion-baht headquarters.
The 2.6-billion-baht office building was supposed to be completed in 2022 but the construction contract has now been cancelled, said Ms Rukchanok, following the NBTC's requests to change the building design. The NBTC said Covid-19 also stalled the work.
The design work began in 2013, and construction kicked off in 2019, she said.
Changing the design often results in higher costs, said the MP. Apart from the 2.6-billion-baht budget, an additional 100 million baht was spent on project design and supervision, Ms Rukchanok said.
Ms Rukchanok, as a member of the House committee on state budget planning and spending, said a copy of the construction plan and the project's bill of quantities should be ready in 10 days.
Ms Rukchanok made an observation that the NBTC had the privilege to decide on such a large-scale project without having to obtain approval from the Budget Bureau first, unlike other state agencies.
Nor was the NBTC's office building construction project checked by the House of Representatives, she said.
Ms Rukchanok said part of the NBTC's revenue comes from collecting up to 2% of the revenue from the holders of broadcast licences.
"Each year it earns several billions of baht from this source of income, which makes it rather independent when it comes to budgeting," she said.
The MP also questioned the budget approval process of the NBTC, as well as how it spent 600 million baht on obtaining viewing rights for the World Cup.
She said the body's internal management is highly problematic as it has not named its secretary-general in the past five years, and it has allowed influence from telecommunications companies to dictate how it works.
"The NBTC leadership is incompetent. It cannot even deal with SMS messages from scam syndicates and illegal internet available at the border," she said.
The NBTC had not responded as of press time.