The national committee on the World Heritage Convention on Wednesday recommended four historic town clusters located in the southern province of Songkhla for inclusion in Unesco's tentative list of potential new world heritage sites.
The clusters of old towns encompass communities and sites connected to Songkhla Lake, said Deputy Prime Minister and Natural Resources and Environment Minister Phatcharavat Wongsuwan, who chaired the committee meeting which issued the proposal on Wednesday.
The first cluster consists of the Phang Yang, Phakho and Si Yang old towns, while the second cluster includes Sathing Phra old town, Pol Gen Phatcharavat said.
The third cluster covers the Pom Khai Singkora and the Laem Son old towns, and the fourth cluster is made up of the Songkhla and the Bo Yang old towns, he said.
The four old towns are located in Muang, Ranot, Sathing Phra and Singha Nakhon districts, he said.
The committee will forward the nomination proposal to the cabinet before submitting it to the Unesco World Heritage Centre in time for the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee in New Delhi on July 21-31, said Pol Gen Phatcharavat.
The committee also recognised a report on a tentative list nomination proposal of Phu Phra Bat Historical Park in Ban Phue district, in the northeastern province of Udon Thani.
The site could be submitted for nomination on Unesco's tentative list in the forthcoming period, he said.
The committee also ordered the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning and the Fine Arts Department to speed up coordination work needed for a nomination proposal covering the entire province of Nan as a new World Heritage site, as suggested by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, he said.