Starting in August 2025, Thailand’s Ministry of Transport will introduce a formal contractor grading system designed to improve oversight and ensure accountability in public infrastructure projects. The new “contractor report card” system comes in response to a string of construction-related accidents, including fatal incidents at MRT lines and highway worksites.
Under the proposed framework, contractor performance will be assessed through a point-based system that supplements existing penalties such as fines and bidding bans. Contractors could face score deductions, downgrades in classification, or even removal from the state contractor registry if found noncompliant. The initiative seeks to raise safety standards and enforce stricter performance benchmarks in state-funded construction.
The Ministry of Finance’s Comptroller General Department is currently drafting the relevant regulations, which will be subject to review by the Office of the Council of State before enactment. The grading system will only apply to contracts signed after its implementation, excluding ongoing projects from retroactive evaluation. However, government agencies have been instructed to strengthen supervision and ensure compliance within current contracts.
Two key regulatory changes are under consideration: a ministerial regulation for contractor registration criteria, and a Finance Ministry regulation concerning public procurement and asset management. Contractors will face deductions in cases of safety violations, project delays, or site accidents. In the event of serious incidents involving fatalities due to negligence, firms may be suspended from participating in public tenders for up to two years.
The announcement follows growing concern over construction safety after a number of high-profile accidents in recent years, such as the fatal steel beam collapse at a Purple Line MRT site in December 2023, structural failures on the Yellow Line, and repeated incidents along Rama II Road.
Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit emphasized that the grading system is part of a broader effort to prevent further accidents and promote transparency in public construction.
