The Central Administrative Court threw out a petition lodged by the Charoen Pokphand Group (CP)-led consortium requesting an injunction against the bidder selection committee for the 290-billion-baht Eastern Airport City Project.
The consortium -- comprising Thana Holding Co, the company under CP Group, Italian-Thai Developmen Plc, Ch. Karnchang Plc, B.Grimm Joint Ventures Holding Co, and Orient Success International Co -- filed a lawsuit against the committee set up by the Royal Thai Navy which operates U-Tapao international airport and is overseeing the project.
The group said the committee unlawfully disqualified it from joining bidding for the project. The panel said the consortium submitted its technical, financial and business plans documents after 3pm on March 21, which was after the deadline for receiving bidding documents.
The court dismissed the group's injunction order request. It maintained the order was lawful since photographic evidence emerged showing the group's staff carrying boxes of the documents to the registration point at 3.09pm. In addition, the group's representatives told the hearing the delay stemmed from traffic congestion. Despite that, the group decided to proceed with the lawsuit.
The navy's committee endorsed two consortiums. They are BBS consortium -- which comprises Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction Plc (STEC), Bangkok Airways Plc, and BTS Group Holdings Plc -- and the Grand Consortium, consisting of Grande Asset Hotel and Property (Grand); Asia Aviation, which is majority-owned by Thai AirAsia, and Christiani & Nielsen (Thai) Plc.
