House justifies extension plea rejection

The House of Representatives has defended its decision to reject a request made by Sino-Thai Engineering & Construction to extend the construction period of the 12.2-billion-baht new parliament complex for the fifth time.

House secretary Pornpit Petcharoen said the chamber rejected the request on Monday because the company had failed to provide a sufficient reason for it.

The contractor cited the Secretariat of the House of Representatives’ delay in hiring workers to install the building’s information technology and audio-visual aid wiring system, Ms Pornpit said, but the House committee considering the request voted 6-3 to dismiss it.

The company has since appealed the decision and submitted a new request for a waiver of a fine it would have to pay for the delay.

It faces having to pay a fine of about 12 million baht, after having already spent 1,874 days on the…