A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar on Friday triggered the collapse of a 33-storey under-construction high-rise building in Thailand’s capital city, Bangkok. The incident occurred over 1,000 km away from the earthquake’s epicenter, raising questions about the structural integrity of the unfinished building — which was being constructed by a joint venture that included a Chinese firm.
Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul has ordered a thorough investigation into the incident. The Department of Public Works and Town and Country Planning (DPT) has been tasked with determining the cause of the collapse and submitting a detailed report within a week. The inquiry will focus on the building’s design, the approval process, and whether any lapses contributed to the catastrophic failure.
Construction of the building
The collapsed structure was intended to be the headquarters of Thailand’s State Audit Office (SAO) and had been under construction for three years at a staggering cost exceeding two billion Thai baht (approximately $58 million). The project was a joint venture involving Italian-Thai Development Plc and China Railway No.10 Engineering Group, a subsidiary of the China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC), one of the world’s largest construction and engineering firms.
