Phra Pokklao Skypark plans announced
THE BANGKOK Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will invest about Bt100 million to build a new walkway and garden observatory called the Phra Pokklao Skypark along the unfinished railway between Memorial Bridge, also known as Saphan Phut, and Phra Pok Klao Bridge, a senior official said yesterday.
Wanlop Suwandee, chief adviser to the Bangkok governor, said construction of the project, scheduled to begin in June 2017 and be completed within a year, was part of the policy to provide a good environment and quality of life for people in the city.
The unused railway bridge structure, known locally as Saphan Duan, the “amputated bridge”, will be transformed into the Southeast Asia’s first mid-river garden observatory and walkway, linking the city’s Thon Buri and Phra Nakhon districts, he said.
Elevated bicycle lane
The eight-metre-wide, 200-metre-long structure will be strengthened and decorated with plants and greenery so that residents and tourists can enjoy a beautiful panoramic view of Bangkok, he said.
Part of the city’s “Bangkok250” project to transform neighbourhoods, the Skypark construction was nominated by Kadeejeen-Klongsan residents as a high-potential location for a garden, walkway and elevated bicycle lane.
Wanlop said the Rattanakosin Island Committee had already approved the project, while the BMA and other agencies would proceed with construction.