"On Jan. 14, a crane collapsed onto a passenger train in the country's northeast, killing at least 32 people. Just one day later, another crane fell on a highway project in Samut Sakhon province, leading to two deaths. Italian-Thai Development helmed both projects, and so on Jan. 16, Thailand's Transport Ministry ordered a 15-day construction halt on more than ten projects overseen by the company, citing a "danger to the public.""
"The construction company is also linked to the collapse of a partially-constructed skyscraper in Bangkok last March, following a devastating earthquake in nearby Myanmar. The disaster killed almost 100 people. Following the skyscraper incident, Premchai Karnasuta, the CEO of Italian-Thai Development, was indicted alongside 22 others, on charges including document forgery and professional negligence causing death. (Executives from China Railway No. 10, a Chinese state-owned construction firm that partnered with Italian-Thai Development, were also charged.)"
"Italian-Thai Development, with $2 billion in 2024 revenue, ranks No. 174 on Fortune 's Southeast Asia 500 list, which measures the region's largest firms by revenue. Thai businessman Uthai Vongnai and Italian engineer Giovanni Tani founded Italian-Thai Development in 1958, after the two worked together salvaging five ships that sank in the Chao Phraya River. The firm expanded to sectors like real estate, manufacturing and mining, and has had a hand in building some of Thailand's largest public infrastructure projects, like Bangkok's subway system."
On Jan. 14 a crane collapsed onto a passenger train in northeast Thailand, killing at least 32 people. On Jan. 15 another crane fell on a highway project in Samut Sakhon province, killing two people. Both projects were overseen by Italian-Thai Development, and Thailand's Transport Ministry ordered a 15-day halt on more than ten company projects on Jan. 16, citing danger to the public. The company said it is assessing damage and will provide compensation. The firm is linked to a March skyscraper collapse that killed almost 100 people, and its CEO was indicted on charges including document forgery and professional negligence. Italian-Thai Development reported $2 billion revenue in 2024 and has broad infrastructure experience.
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