An anti-corruption group has questioned the pole spacing on a solar streetlight project in Mukdahan after posting on its Facebook page. The STRONG Anti-Corruption Thailand club said the 9.916-million-baht project raised questions about whether the light poles were installed too densely. The post appeared on September 3, and the page urged the responsible agency to release key documents for public inspection.
The project belongs to Nikhom Kham Soi Subdistrict Municipality. It covers 148 sets of 50-watt LED solar-powered streetlights, each with a height-adjustable pole mounted on a steel pile foundation. The budget is listed at 9,916,000 baht under project number 68129033747, with a winning bid of 9,906,000 baht. Based on those totals, the figure implies an average of roughly 66,932 baht per set, though that is a calculation from the post’s figures and not a confirmed unit price from a procurement document.
Mayor Chalong Bootkarn said the project was already underway before he took office. He said the lighting benefits the community because the road used to be dark and deserted, with little traffic on it. A municipal sports ground in the area hosts activities two to three times a week, and other government agencies regularly ask to use the space. Wat Suphakon Nikhom Thammaram also benefits from the lighting, the mayor noted, and elderly residents use the road to exercise before dawn every day. He made his remarks at the site, which an Amarin TV reporter visited with him.
The STRONG page has asked the responsible agency to publish the project’s bill of quantities and the price per set. It also wants the installation-point layout plans, the spacing between poles, and the engineering calculations behind the design released for public inspection. The post put four questions: whether such dense pole spacing was necessary, what costs and specifications justify the per-unit price, whether an engineering calculation existed for the spacing and the light coverage, and whether the public got value for a budget of nearly 10 million baht.