A site in Kiakkai is now being considered for the proposed new parliament building as the lease on their preferred site, in Klong Toey, could be too expensive.
Representatives of the government, the opposition, the House and the Senate met yesterday to discuss a new location for the parliament, as its present location on Uthong Nai road is subject to traffic congestion.
After the meeting, deputy house speaker Somsak Kiatsuranont said the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) labour union, which owns the Klong Toey land, was asking for 10 billion baht for a 30-year lease. The 165-rai site is currently an oil storage farm.
He said the Treasury Department estimated the purchase price of the land as only three billion baht. Therefore, he asked the SRT governor to negotiate the rent with the labour union and reply before July 24, the date of the next talks on choosing a site.
Mr Somsak later inspected another possible location, the compound of the Army Transportation Department in Kiakkai area, near the Chao Phaya river.
Mr Somsak said Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, in his capacity as defence minister, would discuss the issue with the army.
If Kiakkai is chosen, the parliament may also seek to relocate the adjacent Yothinburana school, Mr Somsak said.
The deputy house speaker said a former army storehouse in Nonthaburi province, which had also been on the shortlist for the parliamentary move, is likely to be ruled out as the block is too deep and not wide enough.
While inspecting the Kiakkai area, Mr Somsak met a group of residents who live and work at the army's Textile Organisation. They complained that they had just settled down and the construction of a new parliament building there would inconvenience them.
Mr Somsak said no decision had yet been made and promised nearby communities would not be affected once work gets under way at the chosen site.
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