Report On Suvarnabhumi Airport Cracks Due Next Week

[george]

Report on Suvarnabhumi airport cracks due next week

BANGKOK: -- The official report on construction problems at Bangkok's new Suvarnabhumi airport will be completed next week, according to the chairman of the committee investigating damage on the runways and taxiways.

Tortrakul Yomnak, who is also a board member of the Airports of Thailand, told reporters Friday that sand samples taken from beneath the taxiways were being tested to determine if the building material was substandard and was responsible for caused about 100 cracks in the runways and taxiways.

So far, investigators had found no irregularities in the first sand sample taken, but Mr. Tortrakul promised that his committee would thoroughly examine various materials used to build the foundation and the surface of the taxiways and the runways.

Three labs are used for the testing -- two are run by government agencies, the Highways Department and the Royal Thai Air Force, but the third laboratory was not identified by the committee.

Mr. Tortrakul accompanied a group of reporters to inspect damaged sections at the new airport and observe officials taking samples for testing.

He said he is confident that the findings would be ready for submission to the Transport Ministry by February 9, a week earlier than initially planned.

Suvarnabhumi Airport, which opened amid great fanfare in September, was supposed to transform the Thai capital's world showcase airport into Southeast Asia's leading air hub. Instead, the facility has become a national embarrassment.

Suebsak Promboon of the Engineering Institute of Thailand, another member of the investigating panel, expressed doubt about the quality of cement and asphalt used to surface and prop up the foundation of the taxiways and runways.

Refuting suggestion by the local media that an international panel of experts should be appointed to conduct the investigation to ensure its independence, Mr. Suebsak said that Thai engineers had the expertise and the integrity to investigate the problems on their own.

But he agreed that the probe had to credible and transparent because confidence in the new airport was dependent on it.

Newly-appointed airport general manager Serirat Prasutanont said his first task would be to regain credibility for the embattled airport and provide information to fact-finding teams looking into its problems.

--TNA 2007-02-03

[birago23]

[ :D

Sorry...that's so Thai...building an airport over the Cobra Swamps.

The military junta must be quite pissed at the moment...they wouldn't have needed that Mickey Mouse Coup...just wait for the airport to slowly sink into the swamp and Taksin would have been kicked out off office.

[sierra01]

It will be a cover up job

[IMA_FARANG]

[

Sorry...that's so Thai...building an airport over the Cobra Swamps.

The military junta must be quite pissed at the moment...they wouldn't have needed that Mickey Mouse Coup...just wait for the airport to slowly sink into the swamp and Taksin would have been kicked out off office.

All over the world airports are routinely built on land that isn't being used for other purposes. That's why land to build an airport can be had a relatively cheap price. Since this airport was first considered at least 30 years ago, and the site has been known for well over a decade, I'm sure that there was at least one study done regarding the land and the correct procedure to make it safe for an airport. Of course, the proper construction methods may not have been used to stabilize the land before the runways were built, but that is another thing. Just because it was/is a swamp area doesn't mean a perfectly decent runway couldn't have been built IF THE PROPER FOUNDATION HAD BEEN LAID before the runways were built.

Of course, if that wasn't the case, because of poor construction or corruption by the builders.....well that is a different story.

Hopefully the report will make the cause clear.

Being Thailand, corruption by the builders is certainly very likely.

Somebody mentioned a building in Bangkok that collapsed because it was built with 5 stories, when it was only approved as 2 story building.

That was some years ago, but I was in Thailand at that time. I remember the television scenes of the owner being hauled off to jail. Not sure if he ever did any time or not, however.

[baabaabobo]

Thai engineers had the expertise and the integrity to investigate the problems on their own i.e. How to cover up the cover ups

[stoneman]

Thai engineers had the expertise and the integrity to investigate the problems on their own i.e. How to cover up the cover ups

Until an unbiased International team of engineering experts do a totally independent inspection and have a full disclosure report at the conclusion of the investigation, no one will believe any Thai based report.

[Mid]

It will be a cover up job

[Maxwell Book]

Report on Suvarnabhumi airport cracks due next week

Mr. Suebsak said that Thai engineers had the expertise and the integrity to investigate the problems on their own.

This is exactly the problem that most people have with Thailand who are familar with the culture. Truth is often on a continuum. I pray they suspend cultural norms that got them into the current mess and admit mistakes. This would show the world they are serious about fixing the problems.

[Ricardo]

[ :D

Sorry...that's so Thai...building an airport over the Cobra Swamps.

The military junta must be quite pissed at the moment...they wouldn't have needed that Mickey Mouse Coup...just wait for the airport to slowly sink into the swamp and Taksin would have been kicked out off office.

Sorry to disagree - but the timing is important here.

The October election, planned for a few weeks after the hurried-opening of the airport, would have seen Thaksin 're-elected' for another term, months before the major faults in this personally-overseen project became apparent.

And of course the news of the cracks & faults with the new buildings would have been suppressed, in the Thai media, just as they were when he was still in power.

The planned creation of a new Suvarnabhumi province would have been rushed through, the land owned by Thaksin's family & friends would have shot up in value, then the passing of special tax/trading-laws would have made their holdings even more valuable. Thus creating yet another fortune for DL, not through good business judgement, but instead through nepotism and pork-barrel politics.

The military would anyway have missed-out on their cut - so had no reason to wait. A good business deal ensures that everybody gets something. But Thaksin let his greed over-rule good sense here.

[zhudi]

[

Sorry...that's so Thai...building an airport over the Cobra Swamps.

The military junta must be quite pissed at the moment...they wouldn't have needed that Mickey Mouse Coup...just wait for the airport to slowly sink into the swamp and Taksin would have been kicked out off office.

Sorry to disagree - but the timing is important here.

The October election, planned for a few weeks after the hurried-opening of the airport, would have seen Thaksin 're-elected' for another term, months before the major faults in this personally-overseen project became apparent.

And of course the news of the cracks & faults with the new buildings would have been suppressed, in the Thai media, just as they were when he was still in power.

The planned creation of a new Suvarnabhumi province would have been rushed through, the land owned by Thaksin's family & friends would have shot up in value, then the passing of special tax/trading-laws would have made their holdings even more valuable. Thus creating yet another fortune for DL, not through good business judgement, but instead through nepotism and pork-barrel politics.

The military would anyway have missed-out on their cut - so had no reason to wait. A good business deal ensures that everybody gets something. But Thaksin let his greed over-rule good sense here.

there is nothing more wrong with the airport that was wrong with HK's airport that is now the pride of the region, the difference is the way the media is handeling the situation. It is obviously politically driven bad press. The current size of Bangkok could support three airports not one or two so using both is not such a bad plan. Look at stansted and heathrow in London.

[zhudi]

It will be a cover up job

the new airport needs painting, wouldnt you agree that if everything was painted white rather than concrete grey it would look better?

[zhudi]

Thai engineers had the expertise and the integrity to investigate the problems on their own i.e. How to cover up the cover ups

Until an unbiased International team of engineering experts do a totally independent inspection and have a full disclosure report at the conclusion of the investigation, no one will believe any Thai based report.

this is what the current are worried about, they dont want a true perspective being known....

[zhudi]

It will be a cover up job

its an ongoing cover up haha. there has been a new ABAC poll saying that Surayud has fallen to a current approval rating of 48% down from the novembers 75% taksin has moved from 15.8% in Nov to a current 21.6%....wowzers, is he coming back.....?

[John K]

Does anyone know what is going on with the cracks at the airport? Now that the rains have started to return things should be happening with this.