E-auctions transparency can save country billions

The network will closely monitor the government’s budget spending for reconstruction and water development projects.

Tortrakul Yomnak, former president of the Engineering Institute of Thailand, said none of the government’s construction projects should be awarded via a e-auction.

In theory, e-auctions should help the government save about 7 per cent on the cost of projects but in fact corruption brings the savings down to only 1 per cent, he told the CAN’s roundtable on keeping a close watch on government projects to solve the flood crisis.

The ACN will scrutinise major bidding under the five government agencies that get a lot of complaints, such as the Rural Roads Department under the Transport Ministry, he said.

Looking back at the government’s construction tenders in the past six years, the winners were the same companies. The e-auction’s weak point is the final decision on the price, as it relies on many bidding qualifications, he added.

Pramon Suthivong, president of the ACN, said a special taskforce will be set up in cooperation with the Auditor-General’s Office and National Anti-Corruption Commission to check for graft in the government’s Flood Reconstruction for Future Development project with a budget of Bt350 billion.

"We will allow the public to join with us to carefully track the government projects to ensure maximum efficiency and transparency," he said.

The ACN will also propose to the government that middlemen or experts in civil engineering jointly consider the median prices and conduct inspections.

The median price should also be publicised.

Senator Rosana Tositrakul expressed concern about transparency in the government’s Flood Reconstruction for Future Development project, pointing out that there were only 20 pages of details in the request for budget approval for Bt350 billion.