TH-AI Passport contractor explains row, says payments tied to real users

The private contractor behind the 1.62-billion-baht TH-AI Passport project has sought to address public concerns, saying the latest proposed agreement will be based on actual usage under a “Pay per Active User” model.

The project, which aims to provide 5 million people with free access to AI Pro tools for one year, has drawn public scrutiny over value for money, transparency, data security and procurement conditions.

Phakwan Wongpolthawee, director of Human Intelligent Co Ltd, spoke on behalf of TH Consortium, which comprises Human Intelligent Co Ltd and Turnkey Communication Services Plc. The consortium won the 1.62-billion-baht TH-AI Passport project contract with the Digital Economy and Society Ministry.

Phakwan said on Wednesday that the project is currently in negotiations between the public and private sectors following a public hearing on June 11, 2026.

She said there is a strong possibility that both sides will agree on a payment structure based on the number of actual users, or “Pay per Active User”, to build confidence over budget value and ensure maximum public benefit.

The company remains confident the project will move ahead and will not reach the point of contract cancellation, she said, adding that it believes user numbers will reach the target of 5 million.

On allegations of specifications being tailored for a particular bidder, or that the project was prepared in parallel with the drafting of the terms of reference, Phakwan insisted that the company’s business plan and platform development had existed for some time.

She said the company already had a roadmap to build products aimed at upgrading education and AI technology, in line with global technology trends and AI policies that several political parties had previously proposed in public forums.

She said the project is a platform “rental” service, not a project to develop an entirely new system from scratch. Therefore, she said, bidders should already have a basic platform ready for service.

Responding to questions over why the government did not contract directly with global technology companies such as Microsoft or Google, Phakwan said multinational technology firms have their own contractual conditions and standards, which do not always align with Thailand’s state procurement regulations.

In practice, she said, government procurement contracts often have to be handled through authorised representatives or partners of multinational firms.

On questions over the public relations budget, Phakwan said the main purpose of the project is platform service provision. The TOR, which runs to more than 30 pages, focuses on AI models, platform access and service requirements.

Other components, such as training, hackathons, bootcamps, project evaluation, reports and media awareness campaigns, are supporting details rather than the core qualifications required to join the bidding.

She said media awareness was not part of the key qualifications previously mentioned by the ministry’s permanent secretary, meaning a bidder without that specific capability could still take part in the tender.

On system capacity, Phakwan said the company has prepared infrastructure capable of handling up to 5,000 transactions per second, or TPS.

This is far higher than the 139 TPS figure discussed publicly, she said, explaining that the system was designed as a hyperscale platform that can expand automatically to prevent bottlenecks or crashes during periods of heavy simultaneous usage.

She said people could be assured that the company had not used 139 TPS as the basis for system planning.

Phakwan stressed that giving people access to AI Pro tools would be worthwhile because it would help create new skills that Thais can apply in their own professions and personal contexts.

If payment negotiations are concluded, she said, the service could open to the public by the end of July 2026, with the first phase focused on successful implementation.

She said the project could become an important step in giving Thai people broad access to world-class technology if all sides agree on fair conditions.

She explained that AI Pro differs from free AI services because the system includes prompt guides, learning materials and tools that help users understand how to apply AI effectively.

She said the project is intended to give people not only access to AI, but also a practical learning environment that allows them to build useful skills.

“For example, young people working in media who can access Seedance to generate Hollywood-level videos would find this exciting,” she said.

“We do not want the project to be cancelled, and we believe that if fair payment conditions can be agreed, the key part of the additional contract annex will be Pay per Active User,” Phakwan said.

On concerns over possible data leaks, Phakwan said the platform must comply with the Personal Data Protection Act, or PDPA.

She said personal data and usage behaviour data will be stored separately, meaning the system will not identify who entered which prompts or created which content. Access to such data will be governed by legal and security policies.

Asked whether the registration system could crash when the project opens, Phakwan said the registration day is expected to be the peak period because many people will want to claim their rights at the same time.

However, she said the system’s hyperscale design allows capacity to expand when many users enter simultaneously.

After registration, the company will be able to see the actual number of people using the service and manage capacity accordingly.