Dems attack Chatt's dredging contracts

Dems attack Chatt's dredging contracts

Ministry 'ignored auction rules, played favourites'

Deputy Interior Minister Chatt Kuldiloke has been accused by the opposition of improperly approving 26 canal-dredging projects which cost a total of 120 billion baht.

Thaworn Senneam, Democrat MP for Songkhla, mounted the claim during yesterday's censure debate.

Mr Thaworn said the bidding process for the flood prevention project may have violated the bidding collusion law.

A "special bidding process" took place instead of the usual electronic auction, he said.

Pol Lt Gen Chatt, in his former capacity as a deputy transport minister, supervised the Marine Department's implementation of the 26 projects in seven river basins _ Ping, Wang, Yom, Nan, Chi, Mun, and Pa Sak.

Pol Lt Gen Chatt approved the bidding results of 16 projects and the rest were endorsed by a permanent secretary for transport, Mr Thaworn said.

According to Mr Thaworn, the department allowed only 14 companies to bid for the projects, without considering bids from several other interested parties.

All of the bid contenders knew the median prices used in the bids ahead of the auction, and they also knew who would win certain projects before the bids took place, Mr Thaworn alleged.

Objections were also raised about the auction outcomes because certain winners were granted multiple projects even though they lacked the appropriate dredging equipment to handle more than one contract, Mr Thaworn said.

The winner of a contract to dredge sections four and five of Ping River in Kamphaeng Phet province happened to be a child of a kamnan who is also an MP, Mr Thaworn said, identifying the MP only as "Mr T".

Mr Thaworn said "Mr T" has close connections with an influential female figure that he identified as "Mrs D".

And the winner of a contract to dredge sections two and three of Ping River in Nakhon Sawan was the daughter of a former MP, identified only by the initial "B", who was a member of a group controlled by "Mrs D", Mr Thaworn said.

As a result of these "special bidding processes", the average cost of canal dredging rose to 34.5 baht per cubic metre on average, up from 28.8 baht per c/m in the previous year, Mr Thaworn said.

Thanitpol Chaiyanan, Democrat MP for Tak, alleged that one dredging contract was never completed.

The operator dredged the riverbank instead of the river, Mr Thanitpol said.

Democrat MP for Ubon Ratchathani Witoon Nambutr asked why these contract bids did not follow the e-auction procedure.

Pol Lt Gen Chatt defended himself against the opposition's accusations.

He said he had no choice but to expedite flood prevention measures after seeing what happened during last year's flooding.

It was impossible to use the electronic auction method because the department was expected to find the canal dredging contractors by April which meant it only had about two weeks to complete the bidding process for the work, he said.

Many bidders offered a price close to the median price at 34.5 baht per c/m because they based their calculations on the median prices publicised by the Comptroller General's Department, he said, adding that he did not have any personal connections with any of the companies that won contracts.

Pol Lt Gen Chatt said that not a single contractor has been paid for the dredging projects so far and he dismissed the speculation that he may have received kickbacks from approving the projects.

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