Rebar samples from Xin Ke Yuan steel maker fail tests for the second time

Samples of 20mm rebar, manufactured by the Xin Ke Yuan steel company, have failed the “mass value per meter” tests for the second time, Industry Ministry Spokesman Pongpol Yodmuangcharoen told the media today.

He said that the results of the second set of tests, conducted by the Iron and Steel Institute of Thailand, in accordance with the standard set by the Thailand Industrial Standard Institute (TISI), are similar to the initial tests earlier this month.

Pongpol noted, however, that samples of 32mm rebar, from the same Chinese-owned manufacturer, which failed the previous “yield value per meter” tests, have passed the second set of testing, adding that the latest set of results will be sent to the Department of Special Investigation, as part of the evidence in the ongoing probe to determine the exact cause of the collapse of the SAO building on March 28th.

The building, which was being constructed by a joint venture of Italian-Thai Development (ITD) and China Railway No 10 (Thailand), was the only high rise in Bangkok which collapsed due to the tremors from an earthquake in Myanmar.

According to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, 169 buildings in the capital sustained cracks, but no structural damage. Six condominium buildings were, however, declared unsafe.

Earlier this week, a Chinese director of Xin Ke Yuan claimed that the tools employed by the Iron and Steel Institute in the quality tests of its rebar products are substandard.

The Ministry of Industry is considering revoking the operating license of the Xin Ke Yuan company, if it is proven that its rebar used in the construction of the SAO building was not up to the standards set by the TISI.