3. Components of the Sukhothai Historical Park

Development Project

isbed project win present the bistoricalstructures of Sukhothai against the ag-riculturaI scenery of the area. The restareas, parking facilities and souvenirsbops win encourage visitors. ln aIl, anarea of2,887 rai will be developed. Thepublic facilities and utilities ( e.g. roads,scbools, bealth centre, rest area, policestation) win occupy a total area of 490rai. Those bouses wbicb are scatteredalong the bigbway win not need to berelocated but they sbould be redevel-oped to improve the environment. Thebouses wbicb need to be relocated atpresent occupy a total area of 1 ,230 rai.Paddy-fields, plantations and orcbards

Aims of the projectThe aims of the project are to revive thehistorical atmospbere of the ancientcity by preserving and restoring ancientedifices, reviving the landscape, im-proving communications systems anddeveloping the community. The worksbould be planned within the bounda-ries of the available expert advice, funds,time and staff involved.The master planThe historical park bas been dividedinto five sections according to catego-ries of land use, including areas forbousing, fannimg, preserved forests andpublic facilities and utilities. The fin-

Table 5. Land developent

Description Area Percentage

Rai Km2 of70 km2Areas to be developed: 3 402 5.248 7.48Ancient sites 875 1.40 2.0Landscape development area 1 592 2.547 3.63Service area 135 0.21 0.03Orchards (described instone inscriptions)Public facilities areaResidential area:Vi"age renewal areaVi"age resettlement areaHouses wlùch do not have tobe renewed or relocatedAgricultural areas:

Paddy-fieldsSugar-cane cultivationPreserved forest

800490

1231287428

1.2800.7481.7690.4690.677

1.82

1.06

2.81

0.655

0.967

0.833

20.509

20.509

41.96

520

12 795

12795

26057

1.19

29.31

29.31

59.56

177'0"

addition to this, the area within the citywalls and the area north of the city(vicinity ofWat Phra Phai Luang) wiIlbe preserved and maintained. The sec-ond phase will be concemed with thedigging of 400 additional test pits asweIl as preserving and restoring theremaining acient sites.

Landscape development planln developing the landscape the aim isto create an atmosphere that closelyresembles the one described in the stoneinscription. Improving the environmeDtwiIl enhance the ancient bistoric struc-tures. Roads joining the ancient sitesshould be planned aesthetically. Asoil survey conducted by the Soil De-velopment Department concluded thatthe soil was suitable for growing pro-vided the plants or crops were weIlwatered.

Design o/the landscapeThe hiIly forested area to the west shouldbe planted with those trees described inthe stone inscription, for example coco-DUt, ar~ca DUt, betel nut and tamarind.Local trees can be planted in publicfaciIity areas. AlI trees and plants sbouldbe cared for regularly. It bas beenlaid down that trees, rather thanplants and flowers, sbould constitutethe vegetation; that plants and treesshould be grown in large groupings-scattering them sparsely over largeareas wiIl not contribute to theimprovement oflandscape; and that theplants and trees should be grown inweIl-traversed areas, e.g. along roadsand by park benches. To achieve theeffeCt of orchards (as described in thestone inscription), the fruit trees sbould(a) be grouped together in small clus-ters, (b) be evenly spaced, and (c) belocated in open areas which are notbeing used at present for any other

purpose.

comprise an area of 13,410 rai. Pre-served forests lie in the hilly area to thewest of the city. The Forestry Depart-ment, which has control of this area, isresponsible for prohibiting encroach-ment in these forests. To determinezoning and land-use patterns, the fol-lowing plans and regulations weredrawn up: The owners of a 7,000-raiarea consisting largely of rice fieldshave been issued set tIers' rights. Ex-cept for those areas which are adjacentto the ancient sites, relocation of theinhabitants is not necessary .Althoughthe inhabitants are allowed to continueliving in this area, it will be necessary10 prohibit further settlement.The government must makearragements to pay off those settlerswho are to relocate.An area outside the city walls should bereserved for the new settlements.The restoration and preservation ofthe ancient structuresThe restorers should adhere strictly tothe Venice Charter-a series of regula-tions concemed with the restoration ofancient structures. H there is to be anyrestoration, the original ancient brickswill be usedHowever, there will be some structureswhich will need to be fixed with mod-em building materials, but only to con-solidate crucial points.The temples that were prominent dur-ing the Sukhothai period will be givenflfSt priority as regards restoration.Those masses of ancient bricks that arehalf -buried in the ground should be leftalone until a more detailed archaeo-logical survey can be obtained.The restoration project will take tellyears. The flfSt phase will be concemedprimaraily with finding archaeologicalevidence. A hundred and twenty-fivetest pits will be dug for this purpse. ln

178 v

Category A: Measures for maintain-ing the ecological balance of the parkdevelopment area of 617.2 rai. Thisincludes groves. trees and plants. Theexisting groves of mango.coconut.palm. tamarind. etc., could provide abasis for establishing the size of thefruit orcbards that are described in thestone inscriptions. Their location couldbe based on the soil composition ofparticular areas.

Category B: Restoration of ancientwells. ponds and moats. The surface ofthe wells win be raised and laid withbricks.

Category C: Provision of infrastruc-ture facilities. This includes the con-struction of parking facilities and path-ways (within temple complexes) andthe erection of street-ligbts and sign-posts in a total area of 63 rai.Village renewal and resettlement

At least one'-third of the 600 familiesliving within the old city walls win berelocated and the bouses of about 400families along the bigbway and roadswin be redeveloped to improve theenvironment of the area.

The bouses in the bistorical parkbave been classifield under the fo11ow-ing categories: bouses that win be relo-cated; bouses that win be redeveloped;and bouses that can be left alone. Thefirst category includes tbose bouseswbicb block the pathway to. or obstructthe viewing of the ancient sites. Thenew settlements area win be locatedinside and outside the city walls. Thevinagers involved sbould be given ad-equate compensation. Most of tbebouses in the second category , althougbthey overlap the park development area.do not bave to be relocated. They sbould.bowever be redeveloped to improvethe living environment. The presentbuilding materials sbould be replaced

180

by materials thatexistedin ancienttimes.The houses in the third category do notneed to be renewed or relocated be-cause they do Dot block any sites andtheir appearance does Dot clash with theatinosphere of the ancient city.

The new settlement area will besituated beside paddy-fields and someaIready established villages. A adequatewatersupply system must be provided.Smalllanes should connect every houseto the main road. A primary school, ahealth centre and a co-operative storeshould be provided.

The programme of village renewaland resettlement work invoves: (a)registering the number of persons ineach family and prohibiting further set-tlement in the hisorical park area; (b )issuing officia! orders to relocate thosefamilies involved; (c) providing alI thevillages, whether or Dot they need to berelocated or renewed, with more publicfacilities, while at the same time im-proving the existing oDes; and (d) tak-ing meaSures to prepare for a possibleincreasing the population among thepresent inhabitants.Tourist development programme

The total number of foreign arrivaIsin Thailand in 1974 was 1.1 million; in1975 it was 1.2 million. Internationaltourism in Thailand has eamed foreignex change equivalent to 10 per cent ofthe total value of exports in 1975. In1975 about 3 per cent of the total numberof foreign tourists in the country visitedSukhothai (about 33,000 persons)whereas 21 per cent visited Pattayabeach. Table 6 gives an estimate of thenumber of foreign tourists who willvisit Sukhothai after implementation ofthe tourist development plans.After 1987 it is estimated that there willbe an additionaI1 0 per cent increase to

185,185.

-Sukho1!1ai Historical Park Development Projttt;.;.--

Table 6

Number of foreign tourists, at estimated increase rate of 10%

No. of foreign arrivaIs Percentage who visit No. of personsin country Sukhothai

(in milions)

Year

3

3

3

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

5.5

6.0

6.5

1978

19791980

1981

19821983

19841985

19861987

1.11.21

1.33

1.461.611.77

1.952.152.36

2.59

36 30039 900

51 1006440079650

97 500117700141 600

168350

Approxirnately 10 per cent of thetotal Thai population are financially ableto travel within the country for pur-poses of sightseeing. About 25 per centof this select nurnber ( approxirnately1.1 million persons) win actually un-dertake such joumeys; 100,000 Thaisor 10 percent ofthose who sightsee inThailand win visit Sukhothai. Withinthe ten-year project period it is esti-rnated that there wi1l be a 10-20 percent increase. Table 7 gives estirnatesof local sightseers visiting Sukhothai.

Measures have been taken to pro-vide adequate facilities for these esti-rnated nurnbers. A survey revealed thatabout 33,000 foreign tourists visitSukhothai during Septernber to Janu-ary (tourist season in Thailand), whichrneans that two out of every three tour-ists who visit Sukhothai corne duringthis tirne. The rernaining nurnbers usu-ally corne frorn February to August.About 30,000 local tourists (24 percent of the total nurnber of local tour-ists) corne during festivals (which takeplace ten days a year); 36,400 local

tourists corne during weekends (104days of the year-350 persons per day).On week days (251 days of the year)59 ,487 persons corne ( 46 per cent of thetotal nurnber per year-approxirnately350persons perday). Altogether a totalnurnber of approxirnately 126,000 lo-cal tourists visit Sukhothai each year .Table 8 gives daily estirnates of thenurnber of local and foreign tourists inSukhothai.

Frorn these figures it was calculatedthat at least five more hotels should bebuilt during various intervals of theproject and at various locations in theprovince. Appropriate locations are

Phitsanulok, Sukhothai, KarnpaengPhet and Si Satchanalai. Investrnent isestirnate at 15 million baht per hotel(one hotel having 100 roorns). If theroorn charge is 200 baht per day, theinvestment rnoney should be recoveredin six and a half years.

While 80 per cent of the touristscorne in tour buses ( approxirnately 368persons a day), 20 per cent corne inprivatecars (approxirnately 92 persons).

;, 181

1rr:

Table 7

Percentage who visitNo. of local sightseers

Sukhothai No. of personsYear in country(in millions)

110113127144159177196216236257279302

1.1

1.13

1.16

1.20

1.23

1.27

1.31

1.35

1.39

1,431.47

1.51

10

10

Il

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

were designed for smaller vehicules.These should be available at regularintervals throughout the day. In phase2 of the project, parking facilities shouldbe enlarged to accommodate at Jeasttwenty buses and fort y private carsand/or trailers.

Adequate parking facilities are there-fore a must. The parking area shouldaccommodate at least eleven tour busesand twenty-three private cars. Tourbuses should be discouraged from tak-ing passengers on sightseeing tours,since the roads connecting ancient sites

Table 8

No. of local tourist') per day

Festivals Week-ends Weekdays

No. offoreign

Sept to J an

tourist..'I per day

Feb. to Aug.

Year

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1ro

176225

283

350429

517

623

740814

58

64

82103

127

156

188

221269

296

~2

3456

3838

4267

47165184

5671

61786703

7248

370

417

464

516

570626

685

746

810

876

230

259

288

320

354

389

425

463

503

544

182

000000600000900800500000300400300000

Sukholhai Historical Park Development Project-

At present there is one flfst-class hotelin Phitsanulok, with 120 rooms; 50 percent of the foreign tourists and 20 percent of the local tourists need flrst -classaccommodation. Table 9 gives estimatesof the numberoflocal and foreign tour-ists in Sukhothai during the specifedseasons.

Table 9

No. of foreign tourists

(Sept. toJan.)

No, of local tourists Total no. No. of persons 10 a roomon week-ends (average of 1.5 persans

perroom)

year

74

83

93103

114

125137149162

175

154

171

206

245

289

340

396

461

532

582

102114

137

163193203

264307

355

455

80

88

113142

175215259

312370

407

19791980

1981

19821983

1984

198519861987

1988

A cultural centre for lectures, filmsand exhibitions should also be set up.The main auditiorium should have aseating capacity of 150-280 persons. Avigorous public rela'tions programme,particularly one co-ordinated with theTourist Authority of Thailand (TA T),should at tract more people to Sukhothai.Promoting economy through in-creased job opportunities

The residents of old Sukhothaishould be encouraged to participatein the maintenance functions ofthe historical park. Cottage industriesshould be promoted and subsidized.When the farmers are not workingin the fields and plantations, theyshould be encouraged to producehandicrafts.

Development components are asfollows:

Only those industries with whichpeople are already familiar (e.g. weav-ing cotton, bamboo baskets, mats, etc.)should be encouraged. It is easier totrain and advise people in skills thatthey have already acquired.

Surveys should be conducted priorto promoting any industry. Thehandicrafts should be of high crafts-manship and new designs should be

encouraged.They should be made available in

boththe old and new city .The Development Bureau of

Sukhothai province should be ad-vised to head these promotionalactivities.

183~

Pl

The money wbicb tourists spendwben in Sukhothai sbould in itselfbe anincentive for the residents to improvetheir ecomomic status.Set ting up public facilities andutilities

Facilities sbould be designed to ac-cord with the existing arcbaeologicaIstructures. If additionaI ancient struc-tures are uncovered and restored, somepublic facilities may need to be relo-cated.

A major part of tbe land develop-ment plans involves ridding the area ofshrubs and other untidy vegetation. Thiswil1 aIlow easier access to the arcbaeo-jogicaI structures.

Two bundred and sixty families liv-ing in areas wbicb obstruct the view ofthe ancient sites wil1 be relocated to thearea north-west of the city walls. Thenew settlement area will be divided intofour separate villages. eacb consistingof fifty bouses. Eacb bouse will bave anarea of 1.5 rai for kitcben gardening ortending animaIs. Altogether this newsettlement area, totalling 428 rai, willbe divided into a bousing area (1.5 x200 = 300 rai) and public facility (128rai). Ten thousand baht will be pro-vided by the government for the buildingof eacb bouse.Developing water resources

Water resources sbould be devel-oped for dai I y consumption, irrigationof farmlands and purposes oflandscape

development.To provide water for the villagers,

during pbase 1 the Mae Lampbon Ca-nal and the Mae Cbon Canal sbould berestored (i.e. they sbould be dug to adepth of about 2.5 mettes). Large-scaIemachinery sbould be employed ta pumpwater from the Mae Lampban Canalinto (a) the village area and (b) the MacCbon Canal ( to be stored for use during

l'Ii"

{ 1

the season). After pipes have been in-stalled , the Mac Lamphan Canal shouldhave the capacity to provide the vinagearea with about 400 cubic meters ofwater per day. ln phase 2 there shouldbe an efficient supply of pipe water foraIl areas of the historical park.

Also, the newly planted trees in thehistorical park win need an adequatesupplyof water if they are to survive.About 86,000 cubic metres of waterwill be needed in the area during the dryseason (November-April). If the SaoHor Canal is restored, water from theSaritphong Dam(which can store up to100,000 cubic meters ofwater) can bechannened right into area inside thecity walls. From the canal, pipes can belaid throughout the historical park.

ln the rainy season there is a highpossibility that every five years waterfrom the Saritphong Dam win flow atthe rate of 35 cubic metres per second.This win cause floods in the ancientcity .To prevent this from happening.the moats surrounding the triple citywalls and aIl the ancient drainage ca-naIs should be restored. The restoredmoats and canaIs win be another majorsource of water supply during times of

drought.Road development

Procedures in road development in-clude building a new highway (Tak-Sukhothai) from the north to go aroundthe ancient city .This Project win beundertaken by the HighwayDepartment.Once vehicles start usingthis road, the ancient structures winexperience fewer 'destructive vibra-tions'. Table 10 gives details of theroads to be developed.

Roads connecting the ancient siteswithin the city walls win be developed.This win coincide with the building ofthe new highway. Two additional roads

184

will be developed in the northem part ofthe city, joining the sites of Wat PhaiLuang and Wat Sri Choum.The road development components in-clude: cuttiQg 5.7 km for the new high-way; improving the 4.55 km of dirtroads (which join ancient sites); andbuilding 1.9 km ofroads to join villageareas to the main road. The remainingareas of the historical park will be pro-vided with roads in the second phase ofthe project.

To provide electricity within the his-torical park, both high voltage and low-voltage electricity wires should be laidunderground-<>rdinary poles should beemployed in other places. The follow-ing equipment will be used: (a) high-voltage electricity wires (underground),6.7 km; (b ) high-voltageelectricity wires(overhead), 10 km: (c) low-voltage

Table 10

Road level Length(km) Description

1

2

3

30.14

22.4

7 Al

A3

A4

AS

6.5

6

Asphaltic

Penetrated

Asphaltic

Laterite

=13.8

4 8.16 4

away) to the historical park.The safety of the inhabitants of

and the visitors to Sukhothai is vitalto the project. Development in thisarea includes the establishment ofan efficient police force to maintainlaw and order, and updating thehealth service, especia1ly for emer-gency cases.

electricity wires (underground), 6.5 km;(d) low-voltage electricity wires (over-head), 10 km; and (e) 100 kY A trans-formers which have the capacity to re-ceive 10,000 kY A (100 units).

Communications will also be devel-oped. This involves connecting the tel-ephone and telegraph lines from thenew city of Sukhothai (12 kilometres

185~

~I!,i

Construction within the historicalpark includes:

A cultural centre comprising a con-ference room, a laboratory and a semi-narroom. Thesizeofthebuildingshouldbe 1 ,800 square metres and there should

be provision for a service area andparking facilities.

Service areas for visitors throughoutthe park, with parking facilities.

An office for the project staff, a staffservice area. repair centre, greenhousearea, and living quarters for mainte-nance workers.

Hotels. Private investment in hotelconstruction should be strongly en-couraged. The new city of Sukhothaishould be a good location, since elec-tricity and communications systemshave already been established.

186