The Airports of Thailand will hire Chulalongkorn University to appraise the costs of additional work done at Suvarnabhumi airport in the run-up to the airport’s opening in September 2006.
The decision could help solve the long-running dispute between the AoT and its contractor, ITO Joint Venture.
ITO Joint Venture _ comprised of Italian-Thai Development Plc, Takenaka Corp and Obayashi Corp _ lodged a complaint with an arbitrator demanding the AoT pay about 7.2 billion baht in losses relating to additional work it did on the passenger terminal and concourse buildings as demanded by the AoT.
The AoT filed an objection to the contractor’s complaint, lodged a counter-complaint and demanded the firm pay a fine of 2.2 billion baht for damages and expenses, said an AoT source.
In 2006, Thaksin Shinawatra’s administration accelerated construction of the airport so that it could be inaugurated before year-end.
The AoT hired the joint venture to speed up the work and undertake construction.
AoT and ITO Joint Venture tried to resolve their dispute through talks, but they were unable to agree.
Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/228298/aot-seeks-study-in-dispute
