On the 16th, Thailand’s Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit stated that, in view of a series of recent safety incidents, Prime Minister Anutin has instructed the Ministry of Transport to cancel two contracts signed with Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited, and suspend construction on 14 ongoing projects undertaken by the company for 15 days. During this period, a unified and comprehensive safety inspection will be conducted.
Italian-Thai Development Company was also the main contractor of the National Audit Office building in Bangkok, which collapsed after being affected by last year's earthquake in Myanmar.
According to China News Service, Suriya emphasized that the Ministry of Transport will adopt systematic measures to genuinely safeguard public life and property safety, focusing on three aspects: First, to quickly determine the causes of the accidents and hold the responsible parties accountable in accordance with the law; second, to systematically enhance the long-term safety standards for construction projects and public transportation services; third, to accelerate the registration and categorization management of contractors, strengthen the application of safety checklist management and enforcement of penalty mechanisms, so as to prevent similar accidents from happening again and to rebuild public confidence.
In addition, the Ministry of Transport said that other large construction projects under its jurisdiction will also be suspended for safety assessment depending on the situation, but the suspension will last no more than 15 days. The results of the related assessments will be submitted to the Ministry of Transport, and will serve as an important basis for subsequent legal and regulatory measures.
On the morning of the 14th, a serious construction safety accident occurred in Nakhon Ratchasima province in northeast Thailand. At the high-speed rail project construction site, a large crane collapsed and struck a passenger train in operation, resulting in significant casualties. The following day, another crane collapse accident occurred in Bangkok, killing two people. Both incidents involved Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited.