China Railway No 10 and its 13 government contracts worth 7.2B

The company was part of the ITD-CREC joint venture alongside Italian-Thai Development. However, before construction was completed, the building collapsed entirely following an earthquake on March 28, 2068. 

The disaster left hundreds of workers trapped under the rubble, resulting in numerous fatalities, injuries, and missing persons.

Currently, China Railway No. 10 (Thailand) is under investigation by a fact-finding committee appointed by Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, as well as a separate investigative committee under the Ministry of Interior, established by Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. 

The investigations have been given a strict seven-day deadline, meaning the findings are expected to be revealed by next week.

An interesting point is that China Railway Number 10 operates using a business model as a "joint venture" with other private companies. It started by purchasing tender documents for various government projects, but did not submit bids or proposals directly. Instead, it struck deals with well-capitalized Thai private companies to form joint ventures that would submit bids on their behalf.

Since its establishment in 2018, China Railway Number 10 has participated in government projects through joint ventures, initially bidding on medium-sized projects worth around 100 million baht and later moving on to larger projects worth 300 to 500 million baht. It eventually ventured into major government concession projects valued at around 1 billion baht.

From an analysis of government procurement data from the fiscal year 2019 (starting October 2018) to the fiscal year 2025 (starting October 2024), China Railway Number 10 has participated in joint ventures and secured at least 13 government contracts.

The most well-known project is the construction of the new State Audit Office (SAO) building and its associated structures. According to contract No. 021/2564, dated November 23, 2020, the ITD-CREC joint venture—comprising Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited and China Railway Number 10 (Thailand) Co., Ltd.—was awarded the project for 2.136 billion baht.

The remaining 12 projects are detailed as follows:

Year 2019

Tender for the construction of a new passenger terminal and associated structures, along with airport facility equipment at Narathiwat Airport, located in Khok Khian Subdistrict, Mueang Narathiwat District, Narathiwat Province. The project was awarded through an electronic bidding (e-bidding) process with a budget of THB639,890,000 under the Department of Airports (DOA). The winning bidder was CIS Joint Venture, with China Railway No. 10 as a participating partner.

Tender for the construction of two-story townhomes and related infrastructure under the Phuket Community Housing and Community Services Revenue Generation Project. The construction was divided into three phases: 105 units in Phase 1, 97 units in Phase 2, and 152 units in Phase 3. The project was awarded through an e-bidding process with a budget of THB343,200,000 under the National Housing Authority (NHA). The winning bidder was AGC10 Construction Joint Venture, with China Railway No. 10 as a participating partner.

Tender for the construction of school buildings and facilities at Wat Amarintraram School. The project was awarded through an e-bidding process with a budget of THB160,692,925  under the Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC). The winning bidder was AGC10 Construction Joint Venture, with China Railway No. 10 as a participating partner.

Year 2020

Tender for the construction of a warehouse building at Chakri Naruebodindra Medical Institute. The project was awarded through an e-bidding process with a budget of THB146,121,352  under the Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University. The winning bidder was AGC10 Construction Joint Venture, with China Railway No. 10 as a participating partner.

Tender for the construction of a student dormitory in Ratsada Subdistrict, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket Province. The project was awarded through an e-bidding process with a budget of THB132,146,000  under Phuket Rajabhat University. The winning bidder was WGC10 Construction Joint Venture, with China Railway No. 10 as a participating partner.

Tender for the construction of Phrae Provincial Government Complex and associated structures in Nam Cham Subdistrict, Mueang Phrae District, Phrae Province. The project was awarded through an e-bidding process with a budget of THB540,000,000 under the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior. The winning bidder was AKC Joint Venture, with China Railway No. 10 as a participating partner.

Year 2021

Construction of an International Standard Boxing Training Center at Hua Mak Stadium, Hua Mak Subdistrict, Bang Kapi District, Bangkok (3rd Round). The project was awarded through a selection method (investment budget) with a total value of THB 608.4 million under the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT). The winning bidder was CIS Joint Venture, with China Railway No. 10 as a participating partner.

Tender for the construction of 72 government judicial officer housing units and 96 judicial court officer housing units, along with associated structures at the Court of Appeal Region 9. The project was awarded through an e-bidding process with a budget of THB386,000,000 under the Office of the Judiciary. The winning bidder was AKC Joint Venture, with China Railway No. 10 as a participating partner.

Tender for land development and construction of customer service centres, office buildings, training and seminar facilities, guardhouses, Ring Main Unit buildings, waste segregation buildings, flagpoles, fences and gates, signage, reinforced concrete roads, and other infrastructure at the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) in Phuket (Remaining Work, 2nd Round). The project was awarded through an e-bidding process with a budget of THB210,000,000 under PEA. The winning bidder was AKC Joint Venture, with China Railway No. 10 as a participating partner.

Tender for the construction of the Headquarters Building of the Naval Supply Department. The project was awarded through an e-bidding process with a budget of THB179,800,000 under the Royal Thai Navy (RTN). The winning bidder was AKC Joint Venture, with China Railway No. 10 as a participating partner.

Year 2022

Tender for the construction of the National Water Resources Office building in Bang Talat Subdistrict, Pak Kret District, Nonthaburi Province. The project was awarded through an e-bidding) process with a total budget of THB716,448,500 under the National Water Resources Office (ONWR). The winning bidder was NCREC Joint Venture, with China Railway No. 10 as a participating partner.

Tender for the construction of the PEA Academy (Provincial Electricity Authority Training Institute) in Nakhon Chai Si District, Nakhon Pathom Province. The project was awarded through an electronic bidding (e-bidding) process with a budget of 606,500,000 THB under the PEA, High Voltage Electrical Training Center. The winning bidder was AKC Joint Venture, with China Railway No. 10 as a participating partner.

Tender for the construction of a 9-story earthquake-resistant outpatient and emergency building with a total floor area of approximately 21,652 square metres. The project was awarded through an e-bidding process with a budget of THB426,900,000 under Songkhla Hospital. The winning bidder was AKC Joint Venture, with China Railway No. 10 as a participating partner.

Summary

Between fiscal years 2019 and 2022, China Railway No. 10 participated in at least 13 joint venture projects securing government contracts, including the State Audit Office building, with a total value of THB7,232,098,777.

In addition, there are several dozen contracts where the name "China Railway No. 10" appears as a participant in bidding for projects, some along with "affiliated companies", and others where they purchased bid envelopes but did not submit bids. Some projects are difficult to verify whether "China Railway No. 10" was involved in the joint venture to secure the contract.

For some of the above-mentioned projects, such as those under the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) and the National Water Resources Office (ONWR), confirmation has been received that the buildings constructed have been inspected after the earthquake and found to have no defects. However, for other projects, there is no confirmed information regarding what happened after the earthquake occurred.

Of the 12 projects listed above, with the exception of the Office of the Auditor General building, there have been no complaints regarding the public procurement process.