It's been close to two years since the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) began building a new public park on the Thon Buri side of the capital.
Dubbed the new King Rama IX Park, it cost 366.5 million baht and aims to serve as another major landmark similar to King Rama IX Park on the Phra Nakhon side of the city, according to Chakkaphan Phewngam, a deputy Bangkok governor in charge of the BMA's environmental work.
It will also be a learning centre for the royal projects of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The highlight is nine demonstration sites created under the theme of "Suan 9 Noen Doen Tam Roi Pho" ("The Park of 9 Knolls for Following the Father's Footsteps").
Situated on over 100 rai of land on Soi 82, Rama II Road in Bang Bon district, the new park will open early next year, said Mr Chakkaphan.
The scheme is part of the BMA's policy implementation to increase the green areas in the city to meet the international standard ratio of green space per head of population, he said.
Bangkok has 33 public parks with a combined area of 2,983 rai.
The ratio for Bangkok is 6.14 sq m of green space per person, while the level recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) is 9 sq m, he added. The BMA hopes to achieve that target by 2032.
The BMA initially looked for an area larger than 200 rai to build this project, according to Arom Wongmaha, head of the public parks section of the BMA's Environment Office.
But land in Thon Buri, especially such a vast site, is hard to find. The BMA thus needed to lower the requirement and accept this plot that used to be leased out to individuals growing flowers for sale, she said.
The jasmine and other flowers grown there were mainly used to make garlands. But the growers left after authorities terminated their contracts so the BMA could build the new park.
The Environmental Research Institute of Chulalongkorn University won the bid to design the park. After spending about six months coming up with a design, it has presented the idea of having nine knolls to demonstrate how members of the public can follow the late King's footsteps by observing the nine royal projects.
"I'll bet many people have not had a chance to visit the real sites of the royal projects initiated by the late King," said Ms Arom.
"I believe this park will be the first of its kind in Bangkok," said Ms Arom, adding the BMA hopes people go there to relax but also to learn about the royal initiatives.
Exhibition sites for the projects already exist but they are located in more remote areas such as mountains making them harder to access, she said.
The 1st Knoll will demonstrate a way of retaining water known as kaem ling ("monkey cheeks") due to its shape. Introduced by the late King, it deals with excess water during the rainy season and stores the water for later use in the dry season, said Wisarut Nowvasuwan, an architect with the BMA's public parks section.
The demonstration site for this covers 20 rai and has the capacity to retain more than 65,000 cubic metres of water. The site will also serve as an ecological classroom, with a 60m-long passage allowing visitors to observe the ecological system there from below the water level.
The 2nd Knoll will showcase another way of treating water naturally using certain plants that can help improve the condition of the wastewater, said Mr Wisarut.
The 3rd Knoll will show how King Rama IX's popular sufficiency economy philosophy can be adopted in farmland. A small building has already been built on this slope to exhibit knowledge about the sufficiency economy in a real-life context. Some agricultural farms will also be included in this zone.
The 4th Knoll, covering 20 rai, is designed to educate visitors about how wildlife conservation has been carried out under a royal project. At least 64 species of birds can be observed in this forested area.
The 5th Knoll will deal with a royal forest conservation project in which three types of forest -- one for general use, another for public consumption and the third for commercial purposes -- are cultivated in a way that yields four key benefits. All provide the fourth benefit of water and land protection.
The 6th Knoll will demonstrate a royal project concerned with improving and managing the condition of soil. Salt-tolerant plants will be grown here in saline soil in a 10-rai zone with the help of specialised farming and land management techniques.
The 7th Knoll will focus on growing different types of plants together and show how, despite their differences, they can benefit one another. A 400m-long walkway is built for visitors to explore the zone.
The 8th Knoll is designed to demonstrate the "neatly mixed agriculture" royal project, in which various type of agricultural activities are combined in the proper ratio to yield the best results in terms of utilising space.
The 9th Knoll will showcase a plant-growing project about how crops like rice, corn and sugar cane can produce energy.
In addition to these nine slopes, the park offers bicycle and jogging tracks, a workout zone, conference room, exhibition centre and other facilities.
For the convenience of visitors, Soi 82 of Rama II will be expanded while a new entrance from Soi Ekkachai 101 is also being built, said Mr Wisarut.
