BMA faces allegations of corruption over advertising board rentals

Opposition party claims illegal hoardings are being leased out to private companies, which then rent them out to others

The opposition Thai Sang Thai Party on Friday accused the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) of making money on the side by illegally renting advertisement hoardings in the capital to private companies.  

Narutchai Bunnag, the party’s secretary-general who is also part of a committee monitoring BMA’s budget, noted that many of the hoardings had been set up illegally and were far bigger than legally allowed. 

For instance, he said, hoardings set up on traffic islands or on buildings were too big and may be in violation of laws on public orderliness and building control. 

He explained that money earned from the renting of billboards should be added to BMA’s annual revenue. However, he said, the administration is granting private companies five to 10 year leases on the advertising space at a very low rate, and these companies then rent the hoardings at far higher prices. 

He added that even though complaints were filed with the House of Representatives’ anti-graft committee early last year, no action has been taken yet. 

 

“To prevent damage to the country and maintain transparency, the committee for monitoring the BMA budget will write to the National Anti-Corruption Commission asking for an inspection,” he said. 

Narutchai said the committee had enough evidence to help with the investigation, adding that it would reveal more instances of corruption committed by the BMA, especially related to procurements for a 2 billion baht project. 

He added that his committee will also inspect a project to install advertisement hoardings in 250 bicycle parking spots to see whether this goes against the terms of reference.

(2025/01/24-00:00)