Latest Airport Scandal... Cracks, Cracks, And More Cracks

[sriracha john]

In what no doubt will lead to even further delays :

Your plane managed to just barely land safely on the cracked runway... You then deftly maneuvered around the cracked flooring of the airport terminal to spare yourself a nasty ankle injury... only to be taken out by riding in the train thats falls onto the roadway below after the cracked pillars supporting the railway above collapse....

AIRPORT RAILWAY

AUDIT OFFICE INSPECTION

SRT asked to explain cracks

The State Railway of Thailand has been asked to explain to the state auditor cracks allegedly found in the concrete pillars of the electric train being built to Suvarnabhumi airport, a source said. Auditor-General Khunying Jaruvan Maintaka (*Thaivisa Woman Of The Year* ) sent a letter to SRT governor Chitsanti Thanasophon on May 1 seeking an explanation of cracks found in 22 of 788 pillars and two other support beams.

The letter followed an inspection of the construction site by the Office of the Auditor-General.

A forum on ''Corruption in the Construction Circle'' organised yesterday by the Association of Siamese Architects, was told several parts of the Suvarnabhumi airport project were tainted by graft.

Pridi Buranasiri, former National Housing Authority governor, said he had an in-depth report on graft in the construction of the passenger terminal and a concourse building. Substandard transformers had been installed and the auditor-general should investigate, he said.

Krai Tangsa-ngar, of the Association of Thai Engineering Consultants, was concerned about the pace of inspection of construction projects following the withdrawal of engineers supervising the projects in December. More than 4,000 projects had to be inspected after construction.

- BP

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4,000 project inspections??? Airport to open when? 2009?

Edited May 7, 2006 by sriracha john

[penzman]

I did say 2008 previously, it's only beginning.

[sriracha john]

The new governmental program to create a hub of cracks marches on:

"A home-owner points at cracks in his new townhouse in Lat Phrao’s Wang Thong Lang district. The house was one of the eight that were falling apart yesterday, prompting the district authority to declare the area a danger zone."

[sriracha john]

Moving back on-topic, the most-unfortunately-named head of the Railways responds (rather weakly):

Terdsak: Pillar cracks on rail link to airport appear minor

Transport authorities say they have found only nine cracked pillars on the railway project under construction to Suvarnabhumi airport, but have yet to determine if the cracks are a real concern. Inspecting the construction site of the 25.9-billion-baht Airport Rail Link yesterday, State Railway of Thailand (SRT) chairman Terdsak Sedthamanop said there were cracks on nine of the 274 pillars, but these were only five one-hundredths of a millimetre thick, thinner than a human hair.

Mr Terdsak said he believed the cracks might have resulted from the early removal of pillar templates.

The depths of the cracks would have to be measured, he said, but if they are not more than 1cm deep, there would not be a problem.

Mr Terdsak said the contractor, Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction Plc (Stecon), would be responsible for the costs of the investigation and any repairs.

The investigation was prompted by a report by a team from the Office of the Auditor-General which said there were cracks in 22 pillars and in some support beams.

Caretaker Transport Minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal ordered state railway authorities to investigate. He said if cracks were serious, affected pillars and beams would have to be reconstructed.

A Transport Ministry source said the contractor had been notified of the cracks, but refused to take responsibility, claiming a construction supervising consultant of the SRT had approved all designs and specifications of construction materials. The source said the contractor maintained the consultant should be held responsible.

Meanwhile, Stecon has asked for permission to postpone the scheduled November completion of the Airport Rail Link by 12 months due to SRT's delay in securing construction sites which continue to be occupied by slum communities. ahhhh.... further delays... just what the airport needs...

Mr Pongsak said he will not consider the request until the SRT hands over all construction sites to the contractor.

- BP