Having found nobody to claim ownership of Victory Monument, City Hall has finally announced it is directly responsible for overseeing this 76-year-old landmark in Bangkok.
The latest checks found the monument does not sit on an area owned by any state agency or private landlord.
"It's on a road which is a public area, so City Hall must be its caretaker," Sakchai Boonma, chief of the city's Department of City Planning, said on Tuesday.
The monument is located on a spot where four roads -- Phaya Thai, Ratchawithi, Phahon Yothin and Asok-Din Daeng -- have intersected since 1942. It marks the sacrifice made by Thai soldiers, police and civilians in a war between Thailand and France over disputed territories in French Indochina between 1940 and 1941.
Mr Sakchai earlier discussed the issue with the Land Department, which stated there are no land title deed for the monument. The document was only issued for the area in its vicinity, which belongs to the Treasury Department.
This means the historic structure was built on a public area in Bangkok, which is by law under the supervision of City Hall, he said.
Victory Monument is among 15 memorials across the capital that are under the city's landscape redevelopment plan. To proceed with the work, officials need to identify who owns or takes care of them as a prerequisite for seeking budgetary approval by city councillors.
Other historic sites include the statues of King Rama I near Memorial Bridge, King Rama VI in Lumpini Park, King Taksin the Great at Wong Wian Yai, and Democracy Monument on Ratchadamnoen Avenue.
The plan to restore, and add facilities to, Victory Monument stems from its significance as a place where war veterans, their families and other citizens gather on Feb 3 to commemorate Thai Veterans' Day by laying flowers in memory of the fallen.
"We want to make life easier for those who attend the ceremony each year," Mr Sakchai said.
A panel overseeing the restoration project was set up and meetings with state agencies, including the War Veterans Organisation of Thailand, were held to brainstorm ideas to give the landmark a fresh look.
"The War Veterans Organisation suggested building a tunnel to link the monument with an adjacent road," Mr Sakchai said.
Other proposals include building a walkway to give people better access to the landmark.
Regardless of which way it goes, City Hall is required to seek approval from the Fine Arts Department because the monument has been listed as a national archaeological site, Mr Sakchai said.
