New Parliament building nears completion, Constitution Day unveil

The near completion of Sappaya-Sapasathan, Thailand’s new Parliament building, is set to be celebrated by House members and staff on Constitution Day, December 10, as stated by Deputy House Speaker, Padipat Santiphada. He disclosed that the structure is virtually finished, with a final audit committee meeting planned for Monday to examine the project’s status.

Padipat indicated that if the Parliament project is approved at the meeting, the handover event could be scheduled for the end of the month. If everything proceeds as anticipated, the celebration will take place on December 10, with a two-year warranty on the new Parliament building from that date.

The House members plan to organise various activities as part of the celebration, including photography contests, an open house for the public to inspect the new Parliament building, and even a public gathering, a right encapsulated in the constitution. Padipat revealed that additional details about the event will be announced on September 27, reported Bangkok Post.

The Sappaya-Sapasathan will serve as the new meeting venue for the Senate and House of Representatives. It spans a 424,000-square-metre area on Kiakkai Road, bordering the Chao Phraya River in the Dusit district. The new Parliament building is designed to accommodate more than 5,000 individuals and houses museums, a convention centre, seminar rooms, and a banquet hall. The construction cost is approximately 2.2 billion baht.

Allegations of corruption during the project have led to numerous petitions being submitted to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), with an investigation currently ongoing, Padipat shared.

Meanwhile, former Democrat MP Watchara Phetthong voiced his opposition to accepting the Parliament building in a letter to House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha. Watchara noted that the construction is not yet complete and raised concerns about subpar materials and deviations from contractual stipulations, including tree sizes and types of wooden flooring.

He highlighted the construction company’s failure to install fibre cement sheets in the walls of each House Commission meeting room. He questioned whether the contractors had been penalised at an agreed rate of 12.2 million baht per day for the delay in handover.

Watchara has also submitted a petition to the NACC and the State Audit Office and has encouraged Wan to send MP observers to the upcoming Monday meeting.

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