TH-AI Passport tender faces scrutiny over 1.6bn-baht project
TH Consortium wins the 1.6-billion-baht TH-AI Passport project as opposition MPs question the fast bidding process
A joint venture between Turnkey Communication Services Plc and Human Intelligent Co Ltd has reportedly won the tender for the 1.6-billion-baht TH-AI Passport project, even as opposition MPs continue to question the transparency of the bidding process.
The project, formally known as the programme to upgrade digital and artificial intelligence skills for Thai citizens, is being handled by the Office of the National Digital Economy and Society Commission, which oversees the Digital Economy and Society Development Fund.
The project was put out to electronic bidding with a median price of 1,645,693,860 baht. Its goal is to give at least five million Thais aged 15 and above free access to Generative AI tools for one year.
Opposition questions 34-day bidding period
Pawoot Pongvitayapanu, a party-list MP for the People’s Party, raised a parliamentary question over the project, asking why a scheme worth around 1.6 billion baht was announced and opened for bids within only 34 days.
He described the timeline as unusually fast for a project of this scale, saying similar projects normally take three to six months.
Pawoot also alleged there were signs that procurement specifications may have been tailored and called on oversight agencies, including the State Audit Office and the Anti-Money Laundering Office, to examine the tender.
He also urged authorities to delay or suspend the registration opening scheduled for June 5 until the process could be properly reviewed.
“This project is the largest in the history of the DE Fund, with a bidding budget of 1.6 billion baht,” Pawoot said. “The winning price was only 1.5% below the median price. How can these things be allowed to happen?”
TH Consortium named as winner
The reported winner is TH Consortium, a joint venture between two companies:
- Turnkey Communication Services Plc, or TKC
- Human Intelligent Co Ltd
TKC is linked to Sayam Tiewtranon, who holds 32.09% of the company’s shares, while Sky ICT Plc holds 19.39%. In 2025, TKC recorded revenue of 2.338 billion baht.
Human Intelligent Co Ltd was registered on February 1, 2017, with registered capital of 125 million baht. Commerce Ministry data lists it as a Thai-Hong Kong joint venture, with 51% Thai ownership and 49% Hong Kong ownership.
Its directors are MR Chulrangsee Yugala and Phakwan Wongpolthawee. The company operates in electronic training, or e-learning.
In 2025, Human Intelligent reported revenue of 396.06 million baht and profit of 39.95 million baht. Its head office is located on the 22nd floor of Plan B Tower on New Phetchaburi Road in Makkasan, Ratchathewi, Bangkok.
Ministry vows to push ahead
Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaichanok Chidchob has said the TH-AI Passport project will proceed as planned, with official details to be gradually released in June.
He said the ministry would begin providing clearer information after next week, including service quality, usage methods and registration steps.
The registration process, he added, would be designed to be simple so the public could access the rights easily.
Chaichanok said there was no need to delay the project despite concerns and scrutiny from several sides, insisting that the ministry was confident the scheme had followed proper procedures and would help strengthen Thai people’s capabilities in the AI era.
Other reports also quoted the ministry as saying the project was legal, transparent and aimed at giving five million people access to AI tools.
He said the project would remain at its original target of five million free rights.
If the public response is strong and usage becomes widespread, the project could serve as an important indicator for future expansion.
The target is far larger than a previous trial involving free access to Google Gemini for one month.
Although that trial did not limit the number of users, only around 200,000 to fewer than 300,000 people registered, mainly from the 18-23 age group.
The government says the new target reflects an effort to expand AI access much more widely across the population.
Some official explanations also argue that the project could raise Thailand’s AI access rate from 10.7% to around 23%, above the global benchmark cited by the ministry.
