Thailand Pavilion Expo 2025 and conflicts of interest

The project was awarded through a non-competitive selection process to the RMA110 Joint Venture, raising concerns over transparency.

Although questions have arisen regarding the establishment of a joint venture company with just 1 million baht in registered capital—created four months before the bidding and dissolved shortly afterward—Deputy Director-General of the Department of Health Service Support (HSS), Dr Kornkrit Limsommut, and Upathum Nisitsukcharoen, Executive Director of Rightman Co., Ltd. and the RMA110 Joint Venture, clarified that this dissolved company was not the same legal entity as the Joint Venture RMA110 that won the bid.

However, the circumstances surrounding Joint Venture RMA 110, which won the bid through a specific procurement method, have raised questions.

During the bidding process, HSS set the median price on October 17, 2023, and just four days later announced RMA 110 as the winner. This has led to concerns about whether the process was too rushed."

Since the project's inception in late 2022, there have been three rounds of procurement. Initially, using a selective bidding method, the final round shifted to a specific method due to time constraints. 

During the second round, one participant, Index Creative Village Co., Ltd., filed a formal complaint over the bidding process. Despite this, the HSS proceeded with a third round using the specific method.

HSS stated that on December 20, 2022, the Cabinet approved the budget and the implementation plan. Subsequently, on March 14, 2023, the Cabinet approved a budget of 867.881 million baht and assigned the project to the DHSS.

On April 27, 2023, during the first procurement attempt, a median price of 867.88 million baht was set using the selective bidding method, aiming to attract capable companies to participate. However, on May 6, 2023, it was found that all three companies that submitted bids had incomplete documents, particularly in relation to international work performance documentation, leading to the cancellation of the process.

Later, on May 18, 2023, a new median price of 867.88 million baht was set. On July 4, 2023, the winner of the second round of selective bidding was announced as Joint Venture RMA 110, which is a separate entity from the company Joint Venture RMA 110 Co., Ltd.

On July 10, 2023, Index Creative Village filed an appeal. The Comptroller General’s Department later responded, stating that the HSS could proceed with the procurement. However, the process exceeded the 90-day price validity period, preventing contract signing, as the winning bidder declined to proceed due to an inability to hold the bid price beyond the 90-day window. Therefore, a third round of procurement had to be announced.

“What’s happening now is that time is running out, and the organisation in Japan that’s hosting the event has been pressing Thailand to appoint a contractor, with everything needing to be completed by April 13, 2025. Therefore, the department decided to use a specific procurement method instead,” said Dr Kornkrit.

The specific procurement process required a price inquiry. The department sent a price inquiry letter to three operators who had previously submitted bids, in order to determine a market-based median price. Only one operator submitted a price offer. According to procurement regulations, the process can proceed if only one bid is received, and that price must be used.

On October 10, 2023, the price determination committee held a meeting to set the median price. On October 17, 2023, approval was granted to set the median price at 867.877 million baht. Subsequently, on October 20, 2023, the department announced that the RMA 110 Joint Venture had won the bid through specific procurement at a contract value of 867.800 million baht.

Index Creative Village raised two major concerns:

1. Alleged Favoritism Toward a Bidder

Index claims that during the first meeting of HSS at the Ministry of Public Health regarding this project (Meeting 1/2021 on June 8, 2021), a representative from Right Man Co., Ltd. (later a member of the RMA 110 Joint Venture) was invited to present a draft theme and concept for Thailand’s participation in Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai, Japan.

During the meeting, it was found that the Terms of Reference (TOR) for procuring an exhibition operator incorporated content, design concepts, and exhibition details that aligned with the presentation made by Right Man Co., Ltd. This raised concerns about a lack of transparency in the selection process and suggested an unfair advantage in gaining prior knowledge of the bidding criteria.

2. Potential Conflict of Interest in Committee Composition

In separate meetings between the HSS and both the Council of Architects and the Association of Siamese Architects, these organisations were appointed as part of the project development and planning committee for Thailand's pavilion at Expo 2025. The HSS Director-General acted as an advisor, and the Deputy Director-General chaired the committee.

Notably, Chana Sumpalung, then-president of the Association of Siamese Architects, was also the Deputy Managing Director of Architects 49 Limited (A49). Meanwhile, the president of the Council of Architects, Prabhakorn Vadanyakul, was serving as A49’s Managing Director.

During the second round of bidding in mid-2023, Index participated and noted that the RMA 110 Joint Venture at the time included:

Right Man Co., Ltd.

Architects 49 Limited (A49)

Architect 110 Co., Ltd.

Index argued that the dual roles of the architects’ association leaders, who were also executives at A49, part of the joint venture, suggested a potential conflict of interest and raised concerns about whether the process unfairly benefited certain bidders. This prompted Index to file a formal complaint.

During this third round, by specific procurement method, the RMA 110 Joint Venture won again. However, A49 was no longer part of the joint venture, which now consisted of only:

Right Man Co., Ltd.

Architect 110 Co., Ltd.

Therefore, a key issue that has raised public concern is why Right Man Co., Ltd. was invited to present the theme for the Thailand Pavilion, especially since the company later formed a joint venture and participated in the bidding process for the project.

Additionally, regarding the establishment of various operational or working committees by DHSS on this matter, was it acknowledged that the Architect Council of Thailand and the Association of Siamese Architects shared executives with A49 Co., Ltd., which was previously part of the joint venture?

The HSS and those involved will likely need to clarify these concerns once again.