The government is moving forward with reforms to procurement laws to reduce project abandonment, aiming to provide the state with effective tools to manage contractors who cause damage to public interests.
On 21 June 2026 GMT+7, Ms. Ratchada Thanadirek, spokesperson for the Office of the Prime Minister, revealed that the government's legal team is pushing a draft amendment to the Public Procurement and Supplies Administration Act B.E. 2560 (2017) to improve the public procurement system, ensuring value, quality, and benefits for the people.
Recently, Mr. Pakorn Nilprapunt, Deputy Prime Minister responsible for legal affairs, reported to the Prime Minister that the draft law revisions have been completed and are now under consideration by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Mr. Akeniti Nitithanprapas and the Comptroller General's Department before proceeding with further legal steps.
Ms. Ratchada stated that this legal amendment is one of the government’s “promises fulfilled,” aligning directly with government policies on public administration and legal reform. Clause 22.4, as announced by the Prime Minister to Parliament, commits to revising public procurement laws to ensure the state obtains goods or services that are valuable and reasonable, not solely based on the lowest price.
Key points of the draft amendments include revising the criteria for selecting state contractors. Agencies will consider the benefits to the government, the intended use, and the bidder's ability to fulfill the contract, rather than focusing primarily on price. They will also evaluate total life-cycle costs, product and service standards, after-sales service, state-promoted goods, and the contractor's past performance.
This aspect is crucial because previously, using the lowest price as the main criterion led to many projects awarding contracts to the lowest bidders who then failed to meet contract terms, abandoned projects, or caused delays, ultimately harming public interests.
The spokesperson added that the draft law expands grounds for contract termination and blacklisting contractors to cover cases where contractors perform poorly or cause serious harm to state agencies, people's lives, property, or the environment, giving the state real tools to manage contractors who damage public interests.
Another important point is empowering heads of state agencies to directly declare bidders or contractors as project abandoners before notifying the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance to circulate the names in the Comptroller General's system. This aims to reduce delays and prevent problematic contractors from bidding with other agencies.
Furthermore, the draft law includes measures to prevent unreasonable appeals, as currently, appeals are made on nearly every project, causing procurement delays.
“This revision of procurement laws will enhance the efficiency of public spending, ensure quality and value, increase transparency, reduce project abandonment, and help public projects proceed faster, benefiting the public and the overall economy,” the spokesperson said. Ms. Ratchada added.