The controversial purchase of fire engines from Austria resulted from the hurried penning of an agreement between a former interior minister and a representative of Austria, a source said yesterday.

The agreement of understanding (AOU) signed on August 30, 2004, fixed the non-negotiable cost at ¤133.74 million (Bt6.7 billion) and mandated that all parts and equipment to be used with all 315 vehicles could only be imported, said the source, quoting from a report by former university rector Boonserm Weesakul.

"Strangely, the project cost was fixed and agreed on by the former interior minister, even before the specifications were worked out on August 6, 2004," said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) source.

The AOU was not forwarded to the Office of the Attorney General for a mandatory audit although it contained vital information and contract conditions including the project cost, the specifications and even payment method and conditions.

The AOU also failed to seek project costs from other bidders to make a comparison and did not have a condition allowing any parts made in Thailand to be used for the fire engines, as required by a Cabinet decision on June 22, 2004.

The Boonserm Commission also compared the project costs quoted by two manufacturing countries - Spain and Sweden - at ¤82.2 million and ¤60.2 million, respectively. Both countries also offered long-term repayment periods and a special interest-free period, as well as counter trade deals in return.

The source said he did not know why Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin had not made the report public after receiving it early this month, even though he set up the Boonserm Commission.

"The BMA, the Interior Ministry, and the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department cannot do anything afterwards in favour of the Thai government, whether it is a negotiation to seek a lower project cost, better specifications, or other conditions because the AOU was already signed," the source quoted the Boonserm Commission's conclusion as saying.

A total of 176 engines have arrived in Thailand. All were found to have been built on the Mitsubishi Strada chassis and are worth about Bt740,000 apiece.

Manufacturer Steyr has charged the BMA around Bt6.8 million per vehicle.

Jeerawan Prasomsab

The Nation