BANGKOK — 11 June 2026, Thailand’s digital economy minister Chaiyanok Chidchob acknowledged that he personally knows the winner of a controversial government AI project tender but denied any involvement in the procurement process, amid questions over the transparency of the 1.62 billion baht ($49 million) scheme.

The comments came during the TH-AI Passport Forum, organised by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society on 11 June 2026 to gather public feedback and discussion on the TH-AI Passport project.

During a question-and-answer session, Teerachart Kotrakul, a party-list lawmaker from the opposition People’s Party and adviser to a parliamentary budget oversight committee, raised concerns about several aspects of the project.

Among the issues highlighted were requirements for advertising displays in convenience stores, which he said had not been adequately explained, and tender conditions that appeared similar to those used in another government-backed project overseen by a minister from the Bhumjaithai Party.

Teerachart also questioned whether senior officials had personal ties to the company that won the contract.

“The question I would like a clear answer to is whether either of you personally knows the company that won the project,” he said.

He further argued that allowing a company used as a source of pricing information for the project’s reference cost to participate in the bidding process could raise concerns about fairness.

Teerachart also questioned the value of spending 1.621 billion baht on the project when free artificial intelligence services such as Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT are already widely available.

He asked how the government’s proposed system differed from existing free services and whether the expenditure represented value for money.

The lawmaker also pointed to what he described as an unusually tight implementation schedule. Under the contract, registration must open within 30 days of signing and services must be operational within 90 days.

“It is difficult to imagine how a private company that had no prior knowledge of the project could complete a 1.621 billion baht project within 30 days,” he said.

The Minister responded that procurement procedures were handled by career civil servants rather than political officeholders.

“If you ask whether I know the person personally, yes, I do,” he said.

“I know many people in this country. Having worked extensively in the private sector, it would be impossible to say that I do not know anyone who wins a government contract. But I can confirm that I was not involved in the procurement process.”

Pressed on the nature of the relationship, Chaiyanok reiterated: “I have already answered clearly that I know them.”

Addressing concerns that the winning bidder had proposed capabilities exceeding the minimum requirements outlined in the terms of reference (TOR), the minister argued that offering more advanced features should not be viewed as a disadvantage to the state.

“If the contractor reports that what they are providing exceeds the TOR requirements in several respects, are you saying that is a bad thing and puts the state and the public at a disadvantage?” he asked.

He added that any additional capabilities promised by the contractor would become binding obligations under the agreement and that failure to deliver could result in contractual penalties.