Cultural Centre team resigns in protest

A 125 million dollar project starts off with the usual squabbling among committee members before the first bids are in. Worse than toddlers.

All five committee members in charge of a Bt5.8-billion project to turn the Thailand Cultural Centre into a comprehensive cultural complex have resigned in an apparent protest against interference by Acting Culture Minister Surakiart Sathirathai.

Pao Suwansaksri, the dean of Chulalongkorn University's faculty of architecture, yesterday said he and four others submitted their resignations to Surakiart last Friday.

"We are upset by changes to the project criteria as well as the committee," Pao said.

He was joined by Architects Council board member Prof Decha Boonkham; Group Captain Avudh Ngernchuklin; Associate Professor Pinyo Suwankhiri; and the dean of Silpakorn University's architecture faculty, Wasit Imsaengjan.

Last Wednesday, Surakiart removed Pornsek Kanjanajaree, the vice minister for culture, as the project's chairman and added members to the committee.

The move came despite the fact the committee had met on February 20 to review proposals submitted by bidders.

Surakiart, who also serves as deputy premier, took over the helm of the Culture Ministry after Uraiwan Thienthong resigned from the Cabinet on February 3.

In a related development, the Culture Ministry's deputy permanent secretary, Kriangkrai Sampachalit, said the announcement of three finalists for the project would be postponed from yesterday until March 27.

He said the project had attracted 20 bidders.