Picture courtesy of Khaosod

The Department of Highways says it will wait for the outcome of a formal investigation into the collapse of a concrete beam and construction crane on Rama II Road before deciding whether to terminate its contract with Italian-Thai Development Plc, warning that the incident has already disrupted plans to open a major motorway project.

Director-General Piyapong Jiwattanakulphaisal said the accident has affected the timeline for opening Motorway No. 82, which had previously been expected to begin service in April 2026. He confirmed that the original schedule is now likely to be delayed and that no new official opening date can yet be set, as authorities must factor in a mandatory 60-day site closure and complete comprehensive safety inspections. He stressed that the motorway will not be opened to the public if any risk remains.

The collapse occurred during construction work on Rama II Road and prompted immediate safety concerns, leading officials to halt activity in the affected contract area. Following the incident, the Department of Highways ordered Italian-Thai Development Plc to suspend construction work under the contract while investigations are carried out. The company has been involved in the project as a private-sector contractor.

Mr Piyapong explained that the department has not yet decided whether to cancel the contract, noting that such a decision must wait until the investigation establishes clear findings. He said determining the cause of the collapse requires time because it involves forensic engineering procedures, including the collection and examination of physical evidence in accordance with legal processes and in coordination with police investigators. He added that the inquiry cannot be fast-tracked or bypass standard legal steps.

The Department of Highways is pursuing three parallel courses of action in response to the incident. The first is a fact-finding investigation to determine the cause of the accident, overseen by committees from both the Ministry of Transport and the Department of Highways. The second involves the department’s legal team reviewing the contract terms and annexed documents to assess whether there are grounds to terminate the agreement. The third is the establishment of a committee to prepare for the possibility of contract termination.

This preparatory committee includes representatives from the Office of the Attorney General and the Comptroller General’s Department, with the aim of ensuring that any decision is legally sound and protects the state’s interests. Mr Piyapong said these steps are intended to ensure careful, transparent and lawful handling of the matter.

Khoasod reported that officials will reassess the project timeline once the investigation and safety reviews are completed. Any decision on contract termination will depend on the investigation’s conclusions and legal assessments. The department reiterated that public safety remains the overriding priority and that the motorway will only open once all risks have been fully addressed.

Key Takeaways

• The Department of Highways will wait for investigation results before deciding on cancelling the Italian-Thai contract.

• Plans to open Motorway No. 82 in April 2026 are likely to be delayed following the Rama II Road collapse.

• Construction has been suspended while forensic engineering and legal reviews are carried out.

Original story

Construction-crane-collapses-on-Rama-2-at-least-1-dead

  

Adapted by ASEAN Now from Khaosod 2026-01-24

 

 

30 minutes ago, Georgealbert said:

Picture courtesy of Khaosod

The Department of Highways says it will wait for the outcome of a formal investigation into the collapse of a concrete beam and construction crane on Rama II Road before deciding whether to terminate its contract with Italian-Thai Development Plc, warning that the incident has already disrupted plans to open a major motorway project.

Director-General Piyapong Jiwattanakulphaisal said the accident has affected the timeline for opening Motorway No. 82, which had previously been expected to begin service in April 2026. He confirmed that the original schedule is now likely to be delayed and that no new official opening date can yet be set, as authorities must factor in a mandatory 60-day site closure and complete comprehensive safety inspections. He stressed that the motorway will not be opened to the public if any risk remains.

The collapse occurred during construction work on Rama II Road and prompted immediate safety concerns, leading officials to halt activity in the affected contract area. Following the incident, the Department of Highways ordered Italian-Thai Development Plc to suspend construction work under the contract while investigations are carried out. The company has been involved in the project as a private-sector contractor.

Mr Piyapong explained that the department has not yet decided whether to cancel the contract, noting that such a decision must wait until the investigation establishes clear findings. He said determining the cause of the collapse requires time because it involves forensic engineering procedures, including the collection and examination of physical evidence in accordance with legal processes and in coordination with police investigators. He added that the inquiry cannot be fast-tracked or bypass standard legal steps.

The Department of Highways is pursuing three parallel courses of action in response to the incident. The first is a fact-finding investigation to determine the cause of the accident, overseen by committees from both the Ministry of Transport and the Department of Highways. The second involves the department’s legal team reviewing the contract terms and annexed documents to assess whether there are grounds to terminate the agreement. The third is the establishment of a committee to prepare for the possibility of contract termination.

This preparatory committee includes representatives from the Office of the Attorney General and the Comptroller General’s Department, with the aim of ensuring that any decision is legally sound and protects the state’s interests. Mr Piyapong said these steps are intended to ensure careful, transparent and lawful handling of the matter.

Khoasod reported that officials will reassess the project timeline once the investigation and safety reviews are completed. Any decision on contract termination will depend on the investigation’s conclusions and legal assessments. The department reiterated that public safety remains the overriding priority and that the motorway will only open once all risks have been fully addressed.

Key Takeaways

• The Department of Highways will wait for investigation results before deciding on cancelling the Italian-Thai contract.

• Plans to open Motorway No. 82 in April 2026 are likely to be delayed following the Rama II Road collapse.

• Construction has been suspended while forensic engineering and legal reviews are carried out.

Original story

Construction-crane-collapses-on-Rama-2-at-least-1-dead

  

Adapted by ASEAN Now from Khaosod 2026-01-24

 

 

Decision to cancel contract depends how fat the brown envelop is.

LOL.

In other words, waiting for the right amount of money to be exchanged so that the contracts can continue.

While the Department of Highways is right to consider all options, including termination, after such a serious incident, simply canceling the contract now seems like the wrong kind of solution.

Termination at this stage would likely guarantee massive further delays for the entire motorway project. The process of finding a new contractor, re-tendering, and restarting work would take years, punishing the public more than the company responsible.

A more effective penalty would be to keep Italian-Thai Development on the hook under a new, brutally strict regime. The contract should be amended to include:

1. Severe Financial Penalties: Enforce massive, escalating daily fines for any further delays and for any failure to meet design and safety tolerances.

2. Mandatory Independent Oversight: Require the company to fund a team of independent, government-approved engineers and safety overseers. This team would have full authority to monitor all work, halt unsafe operations, and verify every stage meets the highest standards before proceeding.

This approach forces the company to bear the direct cost of fixing its failures, maintains project momentum, and ensures unprecedented levels of safety scrutiny.

Termination lets them walk away from a problem they created; stringent oversight forces them to solve it correctly, under a microscope, with their profits on the line!

You mean the 2500 other incidents, 143 dead people, and 1441 injured, weren't enough reasons? And that's just on Rama II road.

25 minutes ago, Jim Waldron said:

While the Department of Highways is right to consider all options, including termination, after such a serious incident, simply canceling the contract now seems like the wrong kind of solution.

Termination at this stage would likely guarantee massive further delays for the entire motorway project. The process of finding a new contractor, re-tendering, and restarting work would take years, punishing the public more than the company responsible.

A more effective penalty would be to keep Italian-Thai Development on the hook under a new, brutally strict regime. The contract should be amended to include:

1. Severe Financial Penalties: Enforce massive, escalating daily fines for any further delays and for any failure to meet design and safety tolerances.

2. Mandatory Independent Oversight: Require the company to fund a team of independent, government-approved engineers and safety overseers. This team would have full authority to monitor all work, halt unsafe operations, and verify every stage meets the highest standards before proceeding.

This approach forces the company to bear the direct cost of fixing its failures, maintains project momentum, and ensures unprecedented levels of safety scrutiny.

Termination lets them walk away from a problem they created; stringent oversight forces them to solve it correctly, under a microscope, with their profits on the line!

Easier solution, seize the owners assets and the company, sell it to another contractor, and pay heavy compensation to all the injured and dead. Then let the Panther eater and his fanily suffer in poverty, and/or jail.

So this is a U turn on what the government said before, that they HAD cancelled the contract.....

Never miss an opportunity to form a gravy train committee, countless expense paid visits to sites, all the while lining up the priority list of those entitled to brown envelopes.

Did the P.M. not say the contract was to be cancelled, and if not, then just how many people can a construction company kill before being held to account.

On 1/24/2026 at 8:20 AM, Jim Waldron said:

While the Department of Highways is right to consider all options, including termination, after such a serious incident, simply canceling the contract now seems like the wrong kind of solution.

Termination at this stage would likely guarantee massive further delays for the entire motorway project. The process of finding a new contractor, re-tendering, and restarting work would take years, punishing the public more than the company responsible.

A more effective penalty would be to keep Italian-Thai Development on the hook under a new, brutally strict regime. The contract should be amended to include:

1. Severe Financial Penalties: Enforce massive, escalating daily fines for any further delays and for any failure to meet design and safety tolerances.

2. Mandatory Independent Oversight: Require the company to fund a team of independent, government-approved engineers and safety overseers. This team would have full authority to monitor all work, halt unsafe operations, and verify every stage meets the highest standards before proceeding.

This approach forces the company to bear the direct cost of fixing its failures, maintains project momentum, and ensures unprecedented levels of safety scrutiny.

Termination lets them walk away from a problem they created; stringent oversight forces them to solve it correctly, under a microscope, with their profits on the line!

The only issue with this measured approach is that Ital-Thai may not be sufficiently financially viable to to project manage the remainder of the work in compliance with recognized standards. The group cannot service their debt due to speculative investments where they are unable to recover any of the funds. A test might be, given any reasonable financial analysis, would you invest your money in Ital-Thai? If not, then why would you entrust serious public infrastructure, to Ital-Thai where they have failed repeatedly (141 dead in 2 years)..

On 1/24/2026 at 5:07 AM, Georgealbert said:

He stressed that the motorway will not be opened to the public if any risk remains.

To the best of my knowledge there is nothing on the planet that has no risk. Crazy statement from an absolute fool.

2 hours ago, AhFarangJa said:

Never miss an opportunity to form a gravy train committee, countless expense paid visits to sites, all the while lining up the priority list of those entitled to brown envelopes.

Did the P.M. not say the contract was to be cancelled, and if not, then just how many people can a construction company kill before being held to account.

Sad to say this is an accurate assessment of what is a dire situation

All the probe should be is looking into whether or not there's another company that is more competent, and capable of handling a mega project of this size. That should be the extent of the probe, there's nothing but major delays and major neglect of safety standards, with a ItalThai. Nobody can question that.

What we can question is what's really going on behind the scenes.

Just word salad. Until Thailand introduces health and safety standards, for staff training, workspace safety, equipment maintenance and monitoring, risk assessments and emergency procedures, instead of having an advisory document which plants responsibility straight into the hands of those who own the companies to self manage their compliance accidents will happen, as recently demonstrated. They’ll be the usual hand wringing and pathetic apologies, which don’t bring the dead back to life, and after a period of time everything returns to how it was. Everybody recognises what this clown is playing at and as long as envelopes are exchanged Thailand will be stuck in the same corrupt vicious circle forever because no has the guts to challenge the status quo and move the country into the 21st century.

On 1/24/2026 at 8:20 AM, Jim Waldron said:

While the Department of Highways is right to consider all options, including termination, after such a serious incident, simply canceling the contract now seems like the wrong kind of solution.

Termination at this stage would likely guarantee massive further delays for the entire motorway project. The process of finding a new contractor, re-tendering, and restarting work would take years, punishing the public more than the company responsible.

A more effective penalty would be to keep Italian-Thai Development on the hook under a new, brutally strict regime. The contract should be amended to include:

1. Severe Financial Penalties: Enforce massive, escalating daily fines for any further delays and for any failure to meet design and safety tolerances.

2. Mandatory Independent Oversight: Require the company to fund a team of independent, government-approved engineers and safety overseers. This team would have full authority to monitor all work, halt unsafe operations, and verify every stage meets the highest standards before proceeding.

This approach forces the company to bear the direct cost of fixing its failures, maintains project momentum, and ensures unprecedented levels of safety scrutiny.

Termination lets them walk away from a problem they created; stringent oversight forces them to solve it correctly, under a microscope, with their profits on the line!

I would start the investigation with how much cheap labor is employed, and what jobs these unqualified labourers do.

On 1/24/2026 at 8:48 AM, lordgrinz said:

Easier solution, seize the owners assets and the company, sell it to another contractor, and pay heavy compensation to all the injured and dead. Then let the Panther eater and his fanily suffer in poverty, and/or jail.

Then they get sued, people's assets can't just be seized willy-nilly.

On 1/24/2026 at 9:28 AM, brian69 said:

So this is a U turn on what the government said before, that they HAD cancelled the contract.....

Probably a consequence of legal advice following their initial shooting from the hip.