Thailand has widened the definition of "abandonment of work" for state construction contracts, enabling authorities to pursue blacklisting action against contractors whose acts or failures cause serious public harm.

The new regulation, published in the Royal Gazette, means a contractor can face proceedings even when it has not physically left an unfinished project. Firms formally declared to have abandoned work under the rules may be barred from state contracts for between two and 10 years.

The Ministerial Regulation Prescribing Acts Deemed to Constitute Abandonment of Work B.E. 2569 (2026) was issued under Sections 5 and 109(6) of the Public Procurement and Supplies Administration Act B.E. 2560 (2017).

Wider definition of abandonment

Previously, abandonment was largely associated with a contractor failing to sign a contract, leaving work incomplete, or otherwise falling within existing abandonment provisions.

Under the new rule, a contractor's action or failure to act may now be deemed abandonment where it causes serious damage endangering the life, physical safety or property of members of the public.

The rule covers the entire project period, from contract signing until final inspection or termination. It applies to serious danger to life, serious bodily or physical-safety harm, and serious damage that endangers public property.

Formal order still required

An accident does not automatically put a contractor on the blacklist. Qualifying conduct must first be treated as abandonment under procurement law, before the formal process to declare the company an abandoning contractor can proceed.

Section 109 gives the permanent secretary for finance the authority to make that order. Once listed, a contractor can be prevented from bidding for, or entering into, contracts with government agencies.

The government said when the measure was approved that exclusions would run for at least two years and up to 10 years. The contractor's name is circulated to state agencies and published through the Comptroller General's Department procurement system.

Closing a procurement gap

The measure follows cases in which contractors working on government projects caused serious damage but were not necessarily subject to contract termination or proposed for the government's list of abandoning contractors.

That allowed some companies to remain eligible to compete for further state work. The revised framework is intended to close that gap by treating serious safety failures during an ongoing project as potential abandonment of work.

Picture courtesy of The Nation

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12 August 2026

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Are the contractors of Rama II road also on the list?

Edited 20 minutes ago20 min by ikke1959