Bangkok MP Urges Governor to Vet Risky Drainage Tunnel Contractor
Bangkok MP Nattapong Prempuangsoaw urged Governor Chadchart to vet a financially troubled contractor bidding for the 9.5‑billion‑baht expansion of the Bung Nong Bon drainage tunnel, warning the project could be abandoned mid‑construction. He said the contractor, already behind schedule on other city drainage works, is undergoing business rehabilitation and could cause further delays if awarded the contract. Nattapong called for the use of procurement clause 6.5 to scrutinize bidders’ finances and prevent recurrent flooding in eastern Bangkok.
Nattapong Prempuangsoaw, Move Forward Party MP for Bangkok, called on Governor Chadchart to invoke Section 6.5 of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s procurement announcement to examine the risky contractor bidding for the 9.561-billion-baht Bung Nong Bon drainage tunnel expansion from Prawet Burirom Canal to Klong Si. He noted that daily flood monitoring shows the Prawet Burirom Canal’s drainage capacity is insufficient and the slowest in Bangkok, so even though the first phase of the Bung Nong Bon tunnel is complete, water flow from the canal remains limited due to small canals like Klong Nong Bon and Klong Makham Tai, leaving the reservoir’s five-million-cubic‑metre storage underused during crises. While he supports the expansion to increase water intake, he warned that the contractor offering the lowest price—and likely to win the contract—is a firm undergoing business rehabilitation and already handling several Bangkok drainage projects, such as the Klong Prem Prachakorn and Klong Thawi Watthana tunnels, which are running over 30% behind schedule. Allowing such a financially strained company to take on another major project could lead to abandonment and cause delays of up to ten years, as finding a new contractor to fix the work would be difficult. Nattapong urged the BMA to use its authority under Clause 6.5 to summon bidders to clarify their financial status and reject unsuitable proposals, thereby reducing the risk of project disruption. He also called on the Comptroller General’s Office to clarify whether firms under rehabilitation remain eligible for state‑scale contracts, and pressed the Governor to decisively apply Section 6.5 to ensure the multi‑billion‑baht project proceeds swiftly and prevents eastern Bangkok residents from enduring repeated severe flooding.
