At 10:15 PM on May 28, MP Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn from the People's Party scrutinized the budget of the Department of Highways and the Department of Rural Roads during a special House session to consider the 2026 budget bill, totaling 3.78 trillion baht.
He revealed that from FY2017 to FY2023, there were 95 highway construction projects with median prices of 500 million baht or more, totaling 73.346 billion baht. The actual winning bids were only 175 million baht below the median—just 0.24% savings. In contrast, 10 projects valued between 450–500 million baht saw a 15.21% budget saving. Wiroj argued this indicated that fair bidding only occurred for projects below 500 million baht.
He traced the issue to contractor classification rules. To upgrade from Class 3 to 2, a contractor needs a project worth at least 75 million baht; from Class 2 to 1, at least 150 million; and from Class 1 to “Special Class,” a project must be at least 450 million baht. But the bidding ceiling for Special Class was capped at just 500 million baht, creating a 50-million-baht window exploited by the limited pool of 79 special contractors, enabling bid rigging and price fixing.
Wiroj accused these contractors of monopolizing large projects and receiving kickbacks without genuine competition. Despite previous government pledges, including by former PM Srettha Thavisin, to raise bid ceilings to 600 million baht and later 900 million for Class 1G contractors, opposition from highway departments stalled reforms.
He noted only one project in the 2025 budget—Rama IX flyover renovation—fits the 450–600 million baht range, allowing Class 1G contractors to participate. He cited examples where project segmentation could have enabled broader competition and cost savings.
Wiroj reported that procurement savings by Special Class contractors were just 0.4%, compared to 17.1% for Class 1 contractors, suggesting billions in kickbacks yearly. In FY2026, the two highway departments have 57 projects above 600 million baht, totaling 62.45 billion baht, from which he estimated hidden "commission" funds of 8.16 billion baht.
He concluded that such practices lead to project delays, public inconvenience, and economic harm, and criticized Parliament for complicit approval. He urged reallocation of saved funds—for instance, to support a unified transit card system—and reaffirmed his and his party’s rejection of the 2026 transport budget due to persistent corruption.