Tofu-dreg projects (豆腐渣工程) refer to Chinese infrastructure and buildings with extremely poor construction quality, often collapsing due to corruption, substandard materials, and rushed timelines. The term was coined in the 1990s.
A 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar and Thailand in spring 2025. The temblor rattled buildings across the Thai capital of Bangkok, home to 142 skyscrapers. When the shaking ended all were standing — with one exception. The State Audit Office (SAO) building in Chatuchak district, a 30-story skyscraper still under construction by a subsidiary of a Chinese state-owned enterprise, collapsed into a heap of rubble, trapping nearly 100 people inside.
15 were confirmed dead in the collapse, and a further 72 remained missing. The building’s primary contractor, China Railway No. 10 Engineering Group, came under intense public anger. Angst was fueled by clear efforts by the company, and by Chinese authorities, to sweep the project under the rug.
China Railway No. 10 Engineering Group removed a post from its WeChat account that had celebrated the recent capping of the building, praising the project as the company’s first “super high-rise building overseas,” and “a calling card for CR No. 10’s development in Thailand.”
| Trying to access news of the building collapse inside China was impossible. |
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