The cabinet has approved a 70 million baht budget for urgent repair to 11 historical sites damaged by the great flood of 2011.
The budget was proposed by Culture Ministry at the cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
Fine Arts Department director-general Sahawat Naenna said 313 Buddhist temples and historic sites were damaged by the 2011 floods, and 191 of them were completely repaired, thanks to 1.1 billion baht in government funding for restoration.
However, a recent survey has found more 11 flood-hit religious and government premises in Bangkok and other provinces in need of urgent repairs, prompting the department to request additional funding, Mr Sahawat said.
The sites include Wat Pa Moke Voraviharn in Ang Thong province, an archaeological site at Wat Koh Phraya Jeng in Nonthaburi, a National Museum building in Roi Et, and Wat Nai Rong in Bangkok. Restoration work on the 11 sites is expected to take about a year.
This aerial photo taken from an air force helicopter shows the inundation around 400-year-old Chaiwattanaram Temple in Ayutthaya at the height of the catastrophic flooding in 2011. SURAPOL PROMSAKA NA SAKOLNAKORN