PUBLISHED: 4 Apr 2025 at 05: 52
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra acknowledged that substandard steel may have been used in the construction of the State Audit Office ( SAO ) building that collapsed during the earthquake on Friday.
” Progress updates have been continuously reported, and the issue of]sub-standard ] steel is one of the clearer aspects”, she said on Thursday.
She said that the president’s research has focused on the quality of metal used in the building, with the Ministry of Industry inspecting numerous metal samples taken from the crashed site.
Seven sorts of material were tested, and preliminary findings revealed that there were two poor ones– 20mm and 32mm in width– sourced from the same company, she said.
She next called for a conference to be held either now or Monday to explain the research into the fatal decline further.
Industry Minister Akanat Promphan, however, confirmed that further checks may be carried out in partnership with a government-appointed fact-finding council that includes people of the Department of Public Works and Town Planning, as well as the officers.
This analysis will precisely target structural components and areas identified as probable causes of the decline based on the company’s blueprints, he said.
Separately, Teerajchai Phunthumas, an MP with the opposition People’s Party and deputy chairman of the House Committee on Corruption and Misconduct Prevention and Suppression, has announced that the Auditor-General will be summoned on Thursday to clarify how compensation for the families of the victims of the collapse would be dispensed and explain the project’s perceived bloated budget.
The official tally shows a total of 15 people have been confirmed dead, while scores of others are still missing.
Mr Teerajchai said that the Council of Engineers would be called upon to provide information on the materials and technologies used in the building’s construction to help establish the cause of the collapse.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Industry will also be required to explain the procurement procedures, design and materials used, he said.
The SAO building’s construction project, which was approved in 2020 with a budget of over 2 billion baht, was initially scheduled for completion in 2023 but faced delays of more than a year, he said.
The collapse has raised public concerns about why the building failed to withstand the earthquake impact despite the high budget, he noted.