"The army is to be asked to explain how much it is paying for an imported surveillance airship, after house committee hearings uncovered conflicting price estimates. The lower house committee on military affairs wants the army to explain discrepancies in figures provided by its deputy chief and a customs official called to testify yesterday.
The controversial airship has been imported by the army to carry out patrol and surveillance work in the lower South. The craft was to have been delivered last August. A full formal handover has been delayed repeatedly because of problems in fulfilling the purchase contract on the part of the supplier.
The opposition-dominated house panel, chaired by Puea Thai Party MP for Nakhon Ratchasima Somchai Phesprasert, yesterday summoned Rattapon Martpong, a Customs Department technical official, to discuss the purchase of the airship. Mr Somchai quoted Mr Rattapon as saying the actual price of the airship was 54 million baht.
The figure contradicted what deputy army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha had told the National Anti-Corruption Commission, Mr Somchai said. Gen Prayuth told the NACC the airship was valued at 112 million baht, he said.The army says the airship and its accompanying equipment will cost 350 million baht altogether."
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/security/1...hip-in-question
0
More questions about cost of Army's "southern blimp"
Started by Birch, Jun 04 2010 02:46 PM
1 reply to this topic
#2
-
- Members
-
- 1,288 posts
Veteran
Posted 05 June 2010 - 01:12 PM
The way things are being run in Thailand right now, the army could order ten mothballed obsolete WW II battleships to guard Chitralada palace in Bangkok and no one in Abhisit's cabinet would say boo. No doubt, those submarines the Thai navy wants so badly to fight the red shirts will also be arriving soon. Whatever the army wants, Abhisit has to give.
