Help! One Last Push for our Green City Park

 |  March 1, 2017

CityNews – Last September Citylife ran a cover story about how a group of activists, school alumna and community leaders came together to save a beautiful and abandoned piece of land in the Chang Klan area, slated to be turned into a 900 unit condominium project by the Treasury Department. After a concerted and focused effort, and national protest and condemnation, the Treasury Department agreed to gift it to the city of Chiang Mai.

The Treasury Department had declared that the land was only to be used for the good of the public and it was decided by the committee of volunteers to turn it into a public park. Over the past half year environmental groups, architects, activists and the same group of alumna have been working together to agree on what to do with the park. There has been a competition to find an architect or landscaper to design the park and the governor of Chiang Mai has recently approved a budget of 14 million baht from the government’s annual budget, to turn this park into a reality, the stipulation is that all contracts must be signed by the end of March this year.

However, the government’s funding does not cover the cost of the winning team’s design, only the cost of the park’s transformation itself. The winning designers have agreed to a 2% fee of the overall cost of 14 million, which amounts to 280,000 baht. There may be some extra costs going forward as well, but it is not expected to be insurmountable.

To that end, the committee of volunteers and activists are requesting you all to help with one last push to make this park a reality. Please donate whatever you can towards the 280,000 baht fee so that the governor’s pledge of 14 million can be released by the end of March and so that the city can soon enjoy a lovely shaded green lung in the heart of the city.

Siam Commercial Bank
Nimmanhaemin Road
Account number: 839-216011-6
And please send record of your payment to the committee at: sainatee.c@gmail.com