THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Chadchart going ahead with plans to convert city hall into museum

Chadchart going ahead with plans to convert city hall into museum

Bangkok governor-elect Chadchart Sittipunt plans to move all BMA organisations to City Hall 2 in Din Daeng district.

Chadchart said on Thursday that he has a plan to turn the first city hall and the town square area into a Bangkok museum and creative area. He wants Bangkokians to know more about the city while using the area as a model to build a ‘third place’ area in the city.

He mentioned that BMA City Hall 2 was finished in 2017 but some organisations still used the first city hall in the Phra Nakhon district.

BMA City Hall 2 has 37 floors and is separated into three zones:

  • Floor B1 to 6 as normal office
  • Floor 7 to 19 for Bangkok council members and other organisations
  • Floor 20 to 37 for political executives and other organisations

It took 25 years for it to finish. The project started in 1992 when Krisda Arunvongse na Ayudhya was the governor.

The plan to build a 37-storey tower was expected to finish in a year with a budget of THB140 million. However, the project was postponed for almost 10 years due to budget negotiations.

Between 2001 to 2002, the construction department planned to erect the first nine floors while waiting for an additional budget. However, former governor Samak Sundaravej refused as he wanted to finish the entire building.

Between 2004 to 2011, THB1.438 billion budget was approved for the tower and the six-storey council hall.

When Apirak Kosayodhin was the governor, he ordered redecoration of the entire building into an energy conservation building but the plan was stopped as there was no budget.

The decoration project restarted in December 2015 and finished in 2017 with a budget of THB897 million.

Former governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra also had a plan to turn the first city hall into a museum in 2012 after moving to the second city hall. However, construction was delayed so the plan was cancelled.

The first city hall has been used for 66 years after the stone-laying ceremony on June 24 1956.

 

Chadchart going ahead with plans to convert city hall into museum

RELATED
nationthailand