25 minutes ago, NorthernRyland said:

He may have called me a dirty Farang but I support this decision. Clearly this company needs to be replaced or at least shutdown until they can follow safety protocols.

Really?

Ohhhhhhhh, definitely a dodgy company. 😂

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/corporate/40061253

"Italian-Thai Development (ITD) has won 213 state projects worth 130 billion baht in 11 years. "

1 minute ago, KhunHeineken said:

Really?

Ohhhhhhhh, definitely a dodgy company. 😂

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/corporate/40061253

"Italian-Thai Development (ITD) has won 213 state projects worth 130 billion baht in 11 years. "

but is that on merit or because of corruption and no-bid contracts?

7 minutes ago, MikeandDow said:

What farang !!!! the italian who founded the complany are long gone there are No farang involed in the company its All Thais its NOT an italian company its easy to do simple research before posting, your post sounds like paranoia on your part

The word Italy / Italian is all that is needed in order to whip up some nationalism near election time.

No paranoia. It happens every election. Not crane collapses, that is, but anti farang sentiment.

What planet have you been on? It's been going on for decades.

2 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

The word Italy / Italian is all that is needed in order to whip up some nationalism near election time.

No paranoia. It happens every election. Not crane collapses, that is, but anti farang sentiment.

What planet have you been on? It's been going on for decades.

I am on this planet seems you are not, quote from your post "Italian company" there is NO Italian company get your fact right before you spout verbal diarrhea

8 minutes ago, MikeandDow said:

I am on this planet seems you are not, quote from your post "Italian company" there is NO Italian company get your fact right before you spout verbal diarrhea

I'm sure they will blame the Italian part of the company that does not exist. 🤣

Do you have a Buddha tattoo?

15 hours ago, sungod said:

It was the right decision, or do you think they should be allowed to continue?

Who will replace the contractor?

Will the new contractor be any better?

Who will take responsibility for the latent defects in the construction? It becomes difficult to assign liability for defect if there are overlaps of construction. The new contractor will want a hold harmless guarantee and the termination of the previous contractor may let them avoid responsibility.

The appropriate process would have been to undertake a review of all activity first to assess the potential for defects, and then to terminate the contractor if need be. With the contractor terminated now, there is no incentive to co-operate with any investigation of the replacement contractor. There may be serious issues that will now be covered up.

11 hours ago, KhunHeineken said:

Such a decision, made public all over the media, suggests an Italian company may be at fault. Whilst that's possible, his decision at the time was based on no evidence, and was designed to blame farang, yet again, for anything and everything that goes wrong with Thailand, and that is wrong with Thailand. It's a cheap shot.

I think it was more to do with repeated safety incidents, just read the news as there is plenty of evidence there.

Ital Thai is Thai owned with some Chinese investment, how would this be blaming farangs?

In Rama 2 news today...

Just thinking... This Rama 2 road needs its own disaster section on AN forum. Sure to have more articles than some middle of nowhere news sections...

On 1/16/2026 at 9:21 AM, The Old Bull said:

I believe all contracts using similar equipment should be put on hold till the cause of the collapse is figured out. Something like grounding a particular model of plane when a problem arises in one.

Sure, of course.

But also some basic safety precautions like not having traffic and trains travelling across and underneath building sites!

Doesn’t have to be a big crane that falls in order to cause an accident. That’s why building sites are usually fenced off with big signs that say ‘Do Not Enter’

Here are the key details regarding the Thai Safety Department:

• Requirement & Establishment: Employers in specific industries (64 types of businesses) are required to appoint a Safety Department, often requiring at least one manager who has completed specialized training.

• Functions & Duties: The department is responsible for managing workplace safety, conducting risk assessments, implementing environmental health standards (e.g., light, sound, chemicals), and ensuring compliance with labor laws.

• Safety Committee (OSHE): For businesses with 50 or more employees, this department works alongside a mandatory Safety Committee, which consists of representatives from both the employer and employees.

• Legal Consequences: Failure to comply with these regulations can lead to imprisonment for up to one year and/or fines up to THB 400,000.

• Training & Certification: Organizations like "Thai Safety and Training Co., Ltd." provide training for these roles

What is the betting that this goverment dept did there risk assessments ????

On 1/16/2026 at 3:27 AM, spidermike007 said:

It was likely the right thing to do as there have been quite a few accidents and fatalities and public safety issues with this company, in addition to delays that have been ridiculously long, and something needs to be done to improve this situation, which is now a national disaster.

But my guess is that companies that are capable of projects of this size are few and far between.

If any well known Western company , with a good H&S record were asked to tender for the contract and to employ the local labour , I doubt if there would be any that would be interested , for fear of the lack of safe working practices used by the local labour .

8 hours ago, sungod said:

Ital Thai is Thai owned with some Chinese investment, how would this be blaming farangs?

Blame the Chinese then. Place the fault on anyone but Thai's. 😂

14 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

Blame the Chinese then. Place the fault on anyone but Thai's. 😂

stupid post !!

Good article I just found about the safety procedures and the history here.

Public outrage has centered on Italian-Thai Development, the contractor responsible for both sites where the past week’s accidents occurred. The company, also known as Italthai, was also the joint lead contractor for the 33-story State Audit Office building, which toppled while under construction in March, killing about 100 people.

It was the only major structure in Thailand to collapse from an earthquake whose epicenter was in Myanmar, more than 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) away.

Twenty-three individuals and companies were indicted in that case, including Italthai’s President Premchai Karnasuta, on charges including professional negligence causing death and document forgery. Italthai, a major developer in Thailand which has won many government projects, has denied wrongdoing in that case as well as the more recent crane crashes.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has responded to the latest incidents by ordering the Transport Ministry to terminate contracts with, blacklist and prosecute the companies involved. Unfinished projects will be funded by seizing performance bonds and bank guarantees, with the government reserving the right to sue for extra costs. Additionally, a “scorecard” system to keep track of contractors’ performance records should be enforced by early February.

If this company were truly held responsible they would never work in Thailand again!

“I don’t think Thailand fails in terms of the body of knowledge in engineering or even in the technical aspects,” said Panudech Chumyen, a civil engineering lecturer at Bangkok’s Thammasat University. “I think there’s a failure in our system; there are so many gaps that I don’t know where we should begin to close them.”

He said the safety challenges range from laxity in law enforcement to red tape and the lack of integration in safety policies among different stakeholders in projects. He also pointed to a shortage of independent assessors without conflicts of interest, which often results in performance reports that do not reflect reality.

https://apnews.com/article/thailand-construction-cranes-railway-building-collapse-0e209e157c6ce168189ce28f5cd98b34

18 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Good article I just found about the safety procedures and the history here.

Public outrage has centered on Italian-Thai Development, the contractor responsible for both sites where the past week’s accidents occurred. The company, also known as Italthai, was also the joint lead contractor for the 33-story State Audit Office building, which toppled while under construction in March, killing about 100 people.

It was the only major structure in Thailand to collapse from an earthquake whose epicenter was in Myanmar, more than 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) away.

Twenty-three individuals and companies were indicted in that case, including Italthai’s President Premchai Karnasuta, on charges including professional negligence causing death and document forgery. Italthai, a major developer in Thailand which has won many government projects, has denied wrongdoing in that case as well as the more recent crane crashes.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has responded to the latest incidents by ordering the Transport Ministry to terminate contracts with, blacklist and prosecute the companies involved. Unfinished projects will be funded by seizing performance bonds and bank guarantees, with the government reserving the right to sue for extra costs. Additionally, a “scorecard” system to keep track of contractors’ performance records should be enforced by early February.

If this company were truly held responsible they would never work in Thailand again!

“I don’t think Thailand fails in terms of the body of knowledge in engineering or even in the technical aspects,” said Panudech Chumyen, a civil engineering lecturer at Bangkok’s Thammasat University. “I think there’s a failure in our system; there are so many gaps that I don’t know where we should begin to close them.”

He said the safety challenges range from laxity in law enforcement to red tape and the lack of integration in safety policies among different stakeholders in projects. He also pointed to a shortage of independent assessors without conflicts of interest, which often results in performance reports that do not reflect reality.

https://apnews.com/article/thailand-construction-cranes-railway-building-collapse-0e209e157c6ce168189ce28f5cd98b34

Its good that they are trying to shut down this bad company !! But Anutin is like a wanabee Trump because he says shut them down it has to happen, !! iam afraid it does not work like that, they have contracts this will have to go to the courts to decide, Anutin is getting way ahead of himself and he has to remember his master (china) and remember it was the Goverment dept OHS that conducts risk assesments

9 minutes ago, MikeandDow said:

Its good that they are trying to shut down this bad company !! But Anutin is like a wanabee Trump because he says shut them down it has to happen, !! iam afraid it does not work like that, they have contracts this will have to go to the courts to decide, Anutin is getting way ahead of himself and he has to remember his master (china) and remember it was the Goverment dept OHS that conducts risk assesments

I agree with you, but something has to be done, a very strong statement needs to be made, and this company needs to be severely penalized.

The top executives should be in prison.

On 1/16/2026 at 10:27 AM, Travel Dude said:

My prayers and thoughts go to the families of the victims and all the deceased and injured.

no they don't , that's just something people say , without meaning it

45 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

I agree with you, but something has to be done, a very strong statement needs to be made, and this company needs to be severely penalized.

The top executives should be in prison.

Yes agree somethign needs to be done yes company needs to be severely penalized. but so does the OHS goverment Dept There Functions & Duties: The department is responsible for managing workplace safety, conducting risk assessments, implementing environmental health standards (e.g., light, sound, chemicals), and ensuring compliance with labor laws.

NOT the Company but I know Italthai, has its own safety dept, where was, the independent safety offices ??, was there a risk assesment done by OHS?? it is the impelmentation and enforcement which is lacking not only by Italthai, but also by the goverment, will there be change NO !!!!

Unprofessional move IMHO.

Should freeze contracts with this company.

Initiate an investigation and report.

Give the company an opportunity to respond immediately and again after the investigation.

Take appropriate action.

So, now who is to blame? The company will fight back and may even claim compo for unfair action especially if they can prove they weren't negligent.

What if Thai people didn't follow instructions/regulations?

Who in their right mind would take on the completion of these contracts? Assuming that Thailand doesn't have the necessary resources and equipment!

3 hours ago, QPRFC said:

Unprofessional move IMHO.

Should freeze contracts with this company.

Initiate an investigation and report.

Give the company an opportunity to respond immediately and again after the investigation.

Take appropriate action.

So, now who is to blame? The company will fight back and may even claim compo for unfair action especially if they can prove they weren't negligent.

What if Thai people didn't follow instructions/regulations?

Who in their right mind would take on the completion of these contracts? Assuming that Thailand doesn't have the necessary resources and equipment!

The cantry crane operator was Thai and as operator was ultimately responsible

On 1/17/2026 at 10:37 AM, MikeandDow said:

stupid post !!

Are you suggesting it doesn't happen?

On 1/16/2026 at 10:48 AM, Emdog said:

I have a simple, mundane question: contract axed 'immediately'.... so who is going to clean up the mess?

We'll as it so happens Mr Anutins family owns a large construction company called Sino Thai, ask no more!!

On 1/16/2026 at 11:15 AM, captpkapoor said:

I'm told that Italian-Thai is a misnomer and the actual company is Chinese? There's no connection with Italy as such.

Yes I believe that is correct, typical chinese tactics! The "China Railway" & "China Engineering" companies have questionalable track records for build quality & safety proceeders so suggesting its an Italian partnership is a convenient distraction!!

On 1/16/2026 at 10:42 AM, superal said:

Its most likely that the stringent H&S laws and practices in Western countries are known by Asian countries but are ignored to a large extent as they hinder profits .

Yes hinder profits would certainly be one factor but culturally shortcuts are the regional norm!!

11 hours ago, paul1804 said:

Yes I believe that is correct, typical chinese tactics! The "China Railway" & "China Engineering" companies have questionalable track records for build quality & safety proceeders so suggesting its an Italian partnership is a convenient distraction!!

Italian-Thai is a Thai company Majority are Thai shareholds and a couple of chinese

An off topic baiting post has been removed.