Thailand prepares to propose the Phra Prang of Wat Arun to be registered as a world heritage site.
"Sudawan" revealed that the World Cultural Heritage Subcommittee gave the green light to propose "Phra Prang of Wat Arun" to the temporary list, preparing to push for registration as a world heritage site, forwarding it to the Thai World Heritage Board - Cabinet for approval. As for the complete document, "Wat Phra Mahathat" has been sent to the World Heritage Center.
Ms. Sudawan Wangsupakitchkosol, Minister of Culture Revealed that in the 1/2568 World Cultural Heritage Subcommittee meeting, the meeting considered the following agendas: the submission of the Prang of Wat Arun Ratchawararam Ratchaworamahawihan for inclusion in the Tentative List under the name “Phra Prang of Wat Arun Ratchawararam: The Masterpiece of Krung Rattanakosin”
It is a representative of Buddhist architecture in the Prang category that is most outstanding, and is a unique identity of Thailand and the Asian region. The selected features meet World Heritage Criteria 1 and 2, namely, it is a masterpiece of architecture and art of the Rattanakosin period that was influenced by the Prang in Ayutthaya art and developed into a unique characteristic of the Prang that is unique to the Rattanakosin period.
“The process of submitting heritage sites for inclusion on the provisional list, after this, must be submitted to the National Committee on the World Heritage Convention and the Cabinet (Cabinet) for approval before submitting the documents to the World Heritage Centre for approval to be included on the provisional list at the regular World Heritage Committee meeting in June 2568.”
In addition, the meeting considered setting the time frame for submitting the complete Nomination Dossier for cultural heritage sites on the Provisional List, as the submission of the Nomination Dossier on 1 February 2569 will be the last year before changing to the new system that requires a preliminary assessment, along with the requirement that States Parties can submit only one site for consideration by the World Heritage Committee per year and limit the number of sites included on the agenda of the World Heritage Committee meeting to consider the declaration of World Heritage inscription to no more than 1 sites per year.
The World Cultural Heritage Subcommittee therefore considered setting a time frame for submitting documents of cultural heritage sites to be submitted for consideration within the country in a fair manner. Currently, Thailand has four cultural heritage sites on the provisional list, namely:
- Phanom Rung Temple Group, Muang Tam Temple and Plai Bat Temple
- Monuments, sites and cultural landscapes of Chiang Mai, the Lanna capital
- Phra That Phanom, a group of historical buildings and related landscapes
- Songkhla and related communities along Songkhla Lake
The Minister of Culture said that In addition, the Secretariat reported to the meeting on two matters as follows:
1. Sending the complete document requesting registration as a World Heritage Site of Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, to the World Heritage Centre in Paris on 1 February 2568. The current progress is that the World Heritage Centre has sent a copy of the document to the International Council on Monuments and Monuments (ICOMOS), the advisory body of the World Heritage Committee, which is a step in the process of evaluating sites applying for registration as a World Heritage Site.
The World Heritage Centre has informed Thailand to prepare for the visit of experts to assess the potential and management of the site and may request additional information to be considered for inscription at the World Heritage Committee regular meeting in June – July 2569.
2. The field visit of experts to provide advice on the assessment of the impact on the World Heritage Site of the Ayutthaya Historical Park from the construction project of the high-speed rail at Ayutthaya Station in January 2568. There was a meeting to listen to information with all sectors. The initial recommendations of the experts suggested improving the high-speed rail construction project format, reducing the size and height of the high-speed train station and the track ridge, and moving the location of the high-speed train station building to be further away from the Ayutthaya Railway Station, which is an ancient site. In addition, the action plan for the conservation and development of the Ayutthaya Historical Park, which is classified as a Level 3 plan, was pushed forward so that relevant agencies would be aware of it and implement it in the same way.
The Fine Arts Department will coordinate with the National Economic and Social Development Board to present to the Cabinet. The Fine Arts Department has also held a meeting with the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning to improve the city plan of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, especially the area to the east of the city island or Ayutthaya, which is the area where the high-speed rail project at Ayutthaya Station is located, to be an area for the conservation of ancient sites and the protection of outstanding international value (OUV), a cultural world heritage site, the historic city of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya.
Read all economic news throughout Thailand here.
