The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) is standing firm in its plan to use thousands of teak wood logs in the construction of the new parliament building.
The NLA reaffirmed its position after a meeting held Monday to discuss the issue, prompted by growing objections over plans to use teak wood farmed by communities living close to a plantation in Chiang Mai, according to NLA president Pornpetch Wichitcholchai.
The discussion was attended by staff from Sa-ngob 1051 Joint Venture, which is designing the parliament building, and Sino-Thai Engineering & Construction Plc, a group of project consultant firms and executives of the NLA.
The meeting decided that since the Forestry Industry Organisation (FIO) has affirmed it is capable of supplying the teak needed for the construction and decoration of the parliament building, the project should go ahead and use the wood to show off the uniqueness of Thai architecture, Mr Pornpetch said.
The outcome of the meeting came after Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha last week put the brakes on a plan to cut down 2,000 farmed teak trees in Chiang Mai.
The local community insisted that even though the trees to be cut down are farmed, they form a vital part of the eco-system.
The premier's order has created speculation on whether teak trees from other farms will be used instead.
Acting Royal Forest Department chief Pralong Dumrongthai said earlier the prime minister called Natural Resources and Environment Minister Surasak Karnjanarat to stop the plan to chop down the trees in the Mae Ho Phra forest park, which is owned by the FIO in Chiang Mai's Doi Saket district.
He said the FIO was contacted by the parliament construction project contractor to supply 2,000 teak trees for the 12-billion-baht complex in the Kiakkai area of Bangkok.
Progress on the new parliament building is only around 20% complete, after delays in preparing the site for the contractors.
Meanwhile, Mr Pornpetch declined to say where the wood for the parliament project will now be sourced, saying there was a more pressing issue with the Textile Organisation community's refusal to move out of an area that is part of the construction site.
Legal action, as well as community relations measures, will be employed to relocate residents so the entire plot needed for the project formally can be handed to the contractor, said Mr Pornpetch.
The Teak Improvement Centre (TIC) in Lampang province is run partly by the Forest Resources Department of Chiang Mai University. Right, a 'genetically superior teak', or plus tree, at the Lampang site - just what is needed to show the true Thainess of the parliament buildings. (Photos by FAO.org)
Pipat Chaninthayutthawong, managing director of the FIO, said Monday that the forest at Mae Ho Phra will be granted reserve status so logging is banned in line with the premier's order.
The order will be proposed to the cabinet for approval, he said.
Mr Pipat said the FIO will continue to grow farmed trees to keep up with public demand for timber and help curb illegal logging.
The FIO managing director said the public should understand the FIO is helping to distinguish between trees commercially grown and supplied to the timber industry and those designated for conservation purposes.