Corruption fears over highway

Deputy Transport Minister Chatt Kuldiloke claimed he hadn’t heard about the alleged |corruption and would seek information with which to investigate the matter first.

Appointed Senator Pichet Sunthornpipit told the PM the flood disaster damaged 708 roads, and Bt11 billion was needed for repairs. The Senate’s special sub-panel on infrastructure rehabilitation randomly checked the roads and got suspicious that some road repairs were too pricey and some didn’t need urgent repairs, he said. 

For instance, Highway 32 (Bang Pa In-Nakhon Luang), an undamaged 10km-long concrete road, had been paved with an asphalt mixture costing Bt165 million, that some officials claimed would allow water to drain faster. The senator feared that agencies responsible for the projects were not careful or exaggerated the budget, while agencies that approve budgets weren’t able to thoroughly check so many projects.

 

Billboards to go 

BMA (Bangkok Metropolitan Administration) deputy |governor Theerachon Manomaipibul yesterday ordered 148 illegal billboards to be demolished in 15 days, fearing summer storms could hit the city.

Lat Krabang district was home to the highest number of illegal billboards with 22, followed by Bang Kapi and Prawet with 14 signs each.

Advertisers met with the city public works department to seek solutions to the threat of billboards |collapsing in storms, then Theerachon said he had instructed district officials to remove 148 illegal signs – 118 installed without permission and 30 modified illegally. The demolition orders could be appealed by the owners, but the city would ask them to make sure the signs were secure in case of high winds during the appeal period. There were 989 billboards (697 on land and 292 on buildings), including the 148 illegal signs, he said.