This aerial photo shows the site of a building under construction in Bangkok, a day after an earthquake struck central Myanmar and Thailand on March 29, 2025. Rescuers dug through the rubble of collapsed buildings as they desperately searched for survivors after a massive earthquake killed more than 150 people in Myanmar and Thailand on March 29. (Photo by AFP)BANGKOK (Straits Times) – In promotional materials posted on its official social media channels in 2024, the China Railway No. 10 engineering team said its first super-tall project built overseas would become its “calling card” in Thailand.
A video on the state-owned Chinese contractor’s Douyin account boasted soaring drone footage of a 30-storey building in Bangkok, set to a frenetic musical score. A red banner emblazoned with Chinese characters soared into the sky, marking the “auspicious” moment of the tower’s “topping out,” a construction milestone that marks the completion of a building’s structural framework.
On its official WeChat public account, the company described the technical features of the 137-meter-tall structure, including photos of officials in white uniforms and hard hats, posing behind another red banner.
On March 28, the unfinished building intended to house the Thai government’s State Audit Office collapsed after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake. It is estimated that more than 100 people were working on the structure at the time.
Later that day, promotional posts were no longer found on China Railway’s accounts.
Although the quake’s epicenter in neighboring Myanmar was significantly more devastating, the death toll surpassed 2,000 about three days later, and the collapse of the Bangkok buildings has become one of the defining images of the disaster — its location across the busy Chatuchak Market captured dramatic footage of the destruction from multiple angles and circulated widely online.
The building has drawn attention for being the only one in the capital to have completely collapsed, sparking online outrage and questions in Thai national media about the building’s construction quality and due process in awarding major government contracts.
The site accounts for 12 of the 19 confirmed deaths across Thailand. Emergency responders continue to search and rescue operations at the site, where 75 people are still missing.
China Railway No. 10 is apparently the junior partner in the building, a joint venture with local developer Italian-Thai Development (ITD). Founded in 1958, the company gets its name from having an Italian co-founder and contributing to the development of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport, among other notable projects.
But much of the public anger over the building collapse has been directed at China Railway No. 10, whose Thai subsidiary holds a 49 percent stake in the ITD-CREC (China Railway Engineering Corporation) joint venture, the maximum foreign ownership generally permitted under Thai law, according to corporate filings.
It reflects an undercurrent of unease over a surge in Chinese investment in Thailand and a series of major government projects in which Chinese companies have won contracts, particularly under the previous administration led by General Prayut Chan-o-cha, who seized power in a military coup in 2014 and served as prime minister until 2023.
China is Thailand’s largest source of foreign direct investment, accounting for a quarter of total investment by 2023, according to the Thai Board of Investment. Major projects include the Thai-Chinese Rayong Industrial Cluster and a high-speed rail link being built as part of the Belt and Road Initiative.
The earthquake also came a month after Bangkok agreed to Chinese demands to extradite 40 Uighurs held in Thai custody, drawing criticism from human rights groups.
