EDITORIAL

A monument to corruption

Without much of a clue to start with, the nation awaits the outcome of an investigation into what went wrong with the runways and taxiways at the much-heralded 120-billion-baht Suvarnabhumi Airport. But what the public and taxpayers anticipate more is who, or which companies, will be held accountable for the problems at the new airport. The investigation committee headed by Tortrakul Yomnak is expected to announce its results after a thorough analysis of a cross-section of the runway.

The airport that was supposed to be the pride of the country and once touted as a masterpiece and the crowning glory of the Thaksin Shinawatra administration's achievements, is now in the spotlight for its flaws, which include defects inside the terminals, cracks on the taxiways and, most crucially, hairline cracks found on the runways.

To correct what are being called ''systemic'' problems at the new airport could, say engineers, cost billions of baht. If this rough estimate is taken into consideration, it would make Suvarnabhumi among the most expensive airports ever to have been built anywhere in the world.

The Department of Civil Aviation, which has already postponed plans to renew an international safety certificate for Suvarnabhumi, said that it would need to reassess the situation in due course. Although Suvarnabhumi can continue to operate without the Department of Civil Aviation's safety certificate, the lack of it undermines confidence in the airport, which opened somewhat prematurely in late September last year.

Earlier it was estimated that longer-term repair work may cost anywhere from 300 million baht to three billion baht, but going by what the investigating committee has revealed so far, the final bill could run much higher and may turn out to be a most unpleasant and unwanted surprise for everyone.

While it is unavoidable that the government will have to spend a huge amount of money to fix the problems at the airport as they cannot compromise on the safety of nearly 40 million passengers using the facility annually, it must think hard and act swiftly on longer-term remedial measures to correct widespread and deep-seated corruption that gave rise to the problems in the first place.

Suvarnabhumi (meaning ''land of gold'') is alleged to have been a goldmine for politicians for decades to make easy money. The question here is: what guarantee is there that history will not repeat itself under the current administration, if or when the huge new investment must be procured for the repairs?

Will the Thai public stand idly by to see another billion baht of taxpayers' money poured into this swamp?

What is even more puzzling is that none of the mess that has surfaced at Suvarnabhumi seems to have any specific source. All the problems have been attributed to the convenient but vague ''previous administration of Thaksin Shinawatra''.

It is understandable that corrupt politicians must be smart enough to do their job well and leave no trail that can be traced back to haunt them in the future. But can the present government come up with any record whatsoever to pinpoint who or which firm did what?

Should construction contractors be held accountable for this or not? Are the companies that built the airport's problematic structure exempt from correcting their work if it is later found to be substandard?

Can they get away with the crime by saying that they only did what they did because it was specified in the contract?

And if they can, who should take the responsibility?

The mess at Suvarnabhumi is monumental. The government owes it to the public to reveal more details about the wrongdoings and to punish whoever was involved in the substandard construction, be they from the public or private sector.

These questions must be answered before we commit huge additional funds to sort out the existing problems.

Bangkok Post
Friday February 02, 2007