"Councilor Elf" urges the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to urgently resolve the nearly five-year prolonged construction of the Phra Khanong Fire Station. The contract has been extended three times, with only 74% of the work completed. Firefighters have had to pay for their own housing, affecting morale and emergency response effectiveness. Tags: [Phra Khanong Fire Station, construction delay, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, firefighter welfare, emergency response]
On 3 Nov 2026 GMT+7, Ms. Phaknyada Amnuaydejkorn, known as "Councilor Elf," a Bangkok Metropolitan Council member for Wattana District, visited the site to monitor progress on the Phra Khanong Fire and Rescue Station construction project. She held discussions with three parties: the contractor, the civil engineering department as the project owner, and the fire station chief. The purpose was to address issues and expedite construction, which began under contract in 2022 but remains unfinished, approaching five years in March next year. Tags: [Councilor Elf, project monitoring, Phra Khanong Fire Station, Bangkok Metropolitan Council, construction oversight]
Ms. Phaknyada stated that the project contract has been amended three times due to various issues, including water leakage, delayed material deliveries caused by overseas conflicts, and labor shortages preventing scheduled work. However, discussions revealed these problems have all been resolved. Currently, there is no sufficient reason to extend the contract further, yet the final contract period has already been exceeded by nearly 1,000 days. Tags: [contract amendments, construction delays, material shortages, labor issues, project timeline]
The project’s construction value exceeds 149 million baht, with unfinished work valued at approximately over 60 million baht. Most incomplete tasks involve internal building systems. Concerningly, earlier reports indicated over 80% completion, but the latest monitoring shows progress at about 74%. Tags: [project value, incomplete work, building systems, construction progress, project status]
Ms. Phaknyada also noted that from her project follow-ups, she has met the contractor only once; since then, there has been no further progress from the contractor, who is primarily responsible for completing the construction. This raises concerns about the project’s risk of failing to finish as expected. Tags: [contractor accountability, project risks, construction progress, follow-up meetings]
Additionally, there are direct impacts on firefighters regarding welfare and morale. Since the new fire station construction remains incomplete, staff had to vacate on-site housing as originally planned, bearing their own accommodation costs for one year. However, this has now extended to nearly five years, forcing firefighters—especially those with families—to continuously shoulder rental expenses. These accommodations should have been part of their employment benefits. Tags: [firefighter welfare, housing costs, morale, employment benefits, construction delay impact]
Another issue is the temporary relocation of the Phra Khanong fire station to a public health center area in Suan Luang district near On Nut 38. Originally designed for healthcare services, this location is not suited for fire station duties, resulting in limited equipment storage space. Due to insufficient storage, firefighters have had to pile equipment together, causing some to deteriorate quickly from humidity, even though firefighting equipment requires proper storage and constant readiness. Tags: [temporary relocation, equipment storage, facility limitations, firefighting equipment care]
Moreover, this situation has affected meeting the 8-minute KPI, the required response time for firefighters to reach incident locations. The temporary station at On Nut 38 is quite distant from Phra Khanong’s coverage area, and space constraints cause delays in dispatching fire trucks, taking several minutes just to prepare and leave. These factors reduce operational efficiency and morale, despite the inadequate working conditions. Such issues impact both performance and staff motivation. Tags: [response time, KPI, operational efficiency, temporary station, staff morale]
Councilor Elf added that tomorrow she plans to submit a formal question to Bangkok administrators regarding future actions, especially whether to terminate the current contractor’s contract or create a new one. The goal is to determine feasible approaches to advance and complete the project promptly. Tags: [administrative inquiry, contract termination, project completion, contractor management]
She also appealed to relevant agencies and stakeholders, emphasizing that disaster relief work—whether firefighting or other duties—must prioritize public safety, as every second is crucial. However, the prolonged delay in this fire station project has negatively affected the public and forced firefighters to bear housing and work limitations. She urged stakeholders to show empathy toward Wattana residents and firefighters and to urgently resolve issues so the station can operate at full capacity as soon as possible. Tags: [public safety, disaster relief, project delay impact, stakeholder appeal, firefighter support]
