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Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt held a meeting with contractors of large projects in the capital to ensure they strictly follow security measures following a fatal accident at a construction site in Lat Krabang last week.
\nOn Friday, Chadchart called a meeting of contractors at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre in Bangkok\u2019s Klong Toei district.
\nSpeaking to reporters after chairing the meeting, Chadchart said the accident at the construction site of the On Nut \u2013 Lat Krabang overpass had led to worry among the public.
\nOn July 10, a section of the 20-metre-high elevated concrete bridge fell along with its supporting beam onto the road, damaging several cars and buses and causing heavy traffic tailbacks. One worker was killed and 8 others injured.
\nChadchart said the meeting was attended by representatives of contractors of large construction projects under the supervision of the Public Works Department of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA).
\nThe projects included constructions of roads, traffic overpasses, traffic tunnels, elevated roads, hospitals, district offices\u2019 building, and fire stations.
\nThe BMA has invited 42 contractors; 38 of them sent representatives to the meeting.
\nChadchart said he regarded the contractors as a working colleagues to help with the development of the capital.
\n\u201cSo far, most contractors have had no issues, but the accident in Lat Krabang has caused distrust among the people,\u201d Chadchart said.
\nChadchart said he regarded that the on-going construction projects were works of the BMA so the city administration must cooperate with the contractors to regain public confidence.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re on the same team, so we must help each other,\u201d Chadchart said.
\nHe said he had instructed the Public Works Department, the construction supervisors, and the contractors to review their security measures against any possible loophole.
\nHe said the BMA would focus on safety measures \u2013 both safety during the construction and safety of motorists and passersby.
\n\u201cFor example, drainage must have lids or covers, there must be barriers to prevent falls into roadside ditches, and there must be enough lighting at construction spots at night. All of these must rechecked,\u201d Chadchart said.
\nHe said he had also instructed the contractors to make sure the quality of life of city residents would not be compromised by the constructions.
\nAmong other things, they must make sure that the construction would not cause PM2.5 pollution above the safety standard and their construction crates would not cause things to fall down onto houses or people.
\nThe BMA also asked local residents to report safety issues related to the construction via the Traffy Fondue app.
\nThe BMA told the contractors to minimise their impact on road traffic, Chadchart added.
\nHe said some contractors failed to return traffic space on roads after their construction had progressed and they no longer needed those parts of the road.
\nEven worse, he said, some contractors continued to block parts of the roads with piles of construction materials or tools. He said he had told them to move such things and return traffic surface to motorists as soon as possible.
\nChadchart said he had told contractors to stop blocking the drainage system once they have done the construction. He said some contractors blocked certain sewerage during the construction and forgot to unblock them after the work was done, leading to floods following heavy rains.
\nThe governor added that he had also told the contractors not to violate weight limits when they used lorries or trucks to transport construction materials into the capital and to ensure that their trucks do not emit black smoke.
\nHe said the BMA had installed automatic scaling system on certain roads, which would alert the BMA once any truck violates the weight limit.
\nChadchart said he reminded the contractors that the BMA did not allow them to hire subcontractors without first seeking permission from the BMA. If their subcontractors caused any trouble, the contractors would be held responsible, Chadchart added.
\nThe BMA will deploy teams to frequently check the construction sites without notifying the contractors to ensure no safety measures are violated, Chadchart said. The teams would be headed by senior officials of the districts where the construction sites are located.
\nThe governor said the BMA would later lay out the criteria for screening contractors for its projects.
\nFor example, the BMA would not hire contractors with records of serious accidents, or contractors who fail to finish projects on time, Chadchart said.
\nContractors whose construction sites lead to high PM2.5, or those who use trucks that violated the weight limit or caused black fumes would also be blacklisted, the governor said.<\/p>\n