Fingers point to Sino-Thai again as Phuket airport springs leak

“The roof at the passenger terminal should not be leaking after it was just built at a whopping budget of 5.14 billion baht,” Watchara said.

The incident took place on the night of September 2, when most of Phuket was hit by heavy rain. The leaking roof created a small flood in the passenger terminal.

“The National Anti-Corruption Commission and Office of the Auditor General should promptly investigate the case along with the Engineering Institute of Thailand to find out what went wrong. The airport is the face of Thailand and such incidents will only damage the country’s reputation.”

Watchara also called on the authorities to check if the passenger terminal was blocking any existing waterway that may create future flooding.

He said this incident was particularly shameful, especially since Phuket had been chosen to pilot the sandbox tourism scheme during the Covid-19 crisis as well as the sole destination where entertainment venues can operate until 4am.

“The province is also scheduled to host many exhibitions and expos in the coming months. Hence, the government should take immediate action to ensure Phuket is prepared to welcome tourists and event participants,” he added.

Watchara noted that Sino-Thai Engineering & Construction Plc has been awarded both the construction and renovation contract for the airport buildings from 2011 to 2014. He also pointed to a similar incident in July when the new 12.2-billion-baht Parliament complex had sprung a leak after heavy rain. The Parliament complex was also built by the same firm.

Watchara, who had called on authorities to investigate the leak at Parliament, blamed both incidents on construction defects caused by insufficient quality control, use of substandard materials and poor specifications.