Suvarnabhumi Is No Match

[thaigene2]

I just used the new airport for the first time the other week. Had recently been to HK and Sing too - so the comparison was timely. Bangkok's airport doesn't hold a candle to the others. It's all about shopping areas, and while the Sing and HK are as well, they understand that making an airport 'people friendly' is what wins the Skytrack awards - not the shopping.

As someone else mentioned, I couldn't help but notice the crappy floor tiles. They looked like they were already a few years old. Then I looked up at the roof and then the glass plates on the walls..everything looked kind of old. Then I started to think about all those "new" bankok office buildings and condos I have looked at...after around 5 years they look like 15 years old.

Then a sickening feeling...something I had always suspected in the back of my mind.

Think how easy it would be working in a big project like a new airport construction or a new office, condo or shopping complex under construction to do a dirty little deal with the supplier to write out an invoice saying you had delivered the high-quality floor tiles, but in reality delivered sub-standard ones. The guy (or guys) on the receiving end are in on this - and they take a cut of the overpriced invoice.

Bet it happens a lot. If I were doing some big project here I'd bring in loyal and foreign quality assurance inspectors. I would never trust anyone here.

If this really does go on in an epidemic-like atmosphere...then god help this country. Everyone else beware.

[jdinasia]

I had a store in the really high-end mall in Atlanta some 13+ years ago .... after a few months of use some tiles were cracked etc. It happens! They brought in a crew to check and replace tiles.

Did you happen to go to Changi or HK 2 weeks after they opened? What were they like then?

[thaigene2]

I had a store in the really high-end mall in Atlanta some 13+ years ago .... after a few months of use some tiles were cracked etc. It happens! They brought in a crew to check and replace tiles.

Did you happen to go to Changi or HK 2 weeks after they opened? What were they like then?

Sure it happens. I take your point about the floor tiles - but I'm referring to the bigger and perhaps more sinister possibility of routinely delivering sub-standard material and charging for the real thing.

Without proper quality assurance checks who would know? Until it's too late..

No. We all see the army of cleaners in stores and hotels, airport, etc here..but the places just look worn out well before their time. The only answer I can think of is sub-standard materials used. That doesn't mean corruption by itself for sure..

But no one has yet satisfactorily explained why so many people in this country live well beyond their official salaries. In neighbouring countries corruption is rife....maybe Thailand has just managed to gloss it over a bit better...getting a job in the procurement end of a building project or international company would be dream-come-true for someone who wanted to play that game.

[samtam]

I've recently made exactly the same comments re HK (9 years old) & Sing (19 years old) airports, which are both far and away better than the gleaming Suvarnabhumi. Gleaming from a distance. Close up it's a disgrace. Cracked and dirty floor tiles are one thing, and clearly they are not up to the task of heavy traffic. The grey canopies are dirty and worn looking, the glass is dirty etc etc, not to mention the incomplete state of the entire project. Yes, HKG had its problems in the beginning, but only very minor, and certainly sorted out within a few days, not weeks. I agree that we can only draw the same conclusion about who skimmed. I'm glad to read that the anti graft body is investigating some of the contracts, and I hope it extends more widely.