"The project is still covered by the insurance package that lasts two years. We should be able to get the repair costs reimbursed, given that the damage was not caused by the contractor, but by excess water," president Premchai Karnasuta said yesterday.

IOT Joint Venture, which won the Bt7.4-billion contract for the airport's pavement, will take care of the rehabilitation work, he said. IOT is the consortium formed by Italian-Thai Development (Ital-Thai), Obayashi Corp and Takenaka Corp.

In his first public statement since the fissures were reported, Premchai said engineers from the contractor side and Airports of Thailand (AOT), which operates the new airport, had agreed after a site inspection that the break-up of the surface was caused by water, as all materials were up to standard.

Premchai, as president of the country's largest construction firm, also said Ital-Thai was ready to take care of every problem at Suvarnabhumi, as all projects awarded have to pass AOT's quality tests.

Earlier, it was reported that AOT had withheld payment of Bt14 billion to some of the contractors that worked on Suvarnabhumi Airport.

An AOT source said most of the withheld payment involved the projects at the passenger terminal.

Ital-Thai is also part of ITO Joint Venture, which was awarded the construction contract for the passenger terminal complex, comprising the main terminal and concourse buildings. It owns 40 per cent of the joint venture, while Obayashi and Takenaka hold 30 per cent each.

Premchai insisted that out of the total delayed payment, Ital-Thai was entitled to only Bt1.4 billion.

"That's a small amount and should not affect our cash flow. If we were supposed to be paid the whole Bt14 billion, the company could have been in trouble," he added.

Watcharapong Thongrung

The Nation