Sino-Thai Engineering & Construction Plc (Stecon) is suing the House secretariat for 1.59 billion baht for the delayed handover of land for the new parliament complex it is building in Bangkok.
Sorasak Pienvej, secretary of the secretariat, said on Wednesday that Stecon had exercised the right to sue it had earlier reserved over the delay.
Stecon won the contract to build the complex. It is years behind schedule. The contractor partly attributes this to delays in handing over the land in Kiakkai area, on the east bank of the Chao Phraya River.
The company filed its lawsuit with the Administrative Court, which advised the House secretariat of the action.
Mr Sorasak said the Stecon lawsuit pointed to delays in soil excavation and the handover of the land caused by tardiness in the relocation of Yothinburana School and Thor Pha community.
He said the legal dispute would not affect the construction, which is now due for completion this year after several extensions.
Mr Sorasak said the number of workers at the site had dropped and the contractor said it was very difficult to recruit more at this time.
The House secretariat signed a 12 billion baht contract with Stecon in November 2015, with the new parliament complex originally due for completion in May 2018. It was only 70% complete when inspected in December last year.