Residents of Phuket housing project built by Chinese firm complain of issues

Residents of a government housing project in Phuket, built by China Railway No. 10 Engineering Co., the same company responsible for the collapsed building in Bangkok, have long complained about multiple issues caused by substandard materials.

The residents of Keha Chumchon Pa Klong Cheep in Phuket’s Thalang district said they had repeatedly reported problems with their houses, but their complaints have never been addressed.

China Railway No. 10 was awarded the residential project for 343 million baht, yet 174 out of the 354 houses have suffered from various issues, including:

• Cracked walls
• Ground-floor ceilings collapsing due to water seepage from the second floor
• Decorative wooden stair panels coming loose
• Floors developing mould
• Broken or detached floor tiles
• Malfunctioning fire alarm systems
• Damaged concrete staircases
• Leaking toilet pipes

Residents, who each paid 1.73 million baht for their homes, said they became increasingly fearful for their safety after learning that the State Audit Office’s new building in Bangkok, also constructed by the Chinese firm, collapsed on 28 March.

They added that despite repeatedly informing the construction company about the defects, representatives from the firm visited but later went silent and failed to take any corrective action.