The Crown Property Bureau will build an underground parking lot for 700 vehicles below Nagaraphirom park, on the Chao Phraya riverside, and a museum of classical dance and other facilities on the ground next to the Grand Palace.
Oranuch Imarom, head of the bureau's conservation management department, said on Thursday the 800-million-baht project would relieve the problem of inadequate parking near the Grand Palace, a major tourist destination.
Parking for visitors was inadequate at present, with cars and vans obstructing traffic and ruining views of the palace and other important places, she said.
Nagaphirom park, near Tha Tian pier, covers a bit more than 3 rai at present. The Bureau of the Royal Household has donated an adjacent block of land to expand the area to 7.5 rai to enable the development.
The underground parking building would consist of 3.5 floors, each 2.7 metres high, for use by private cars and vans, Mrs Oranuch said.
On the ground there would be a wide bicycle parking area, an elevator entrance, a music pavilion, a reception hall for important ceremonies, a light and sound control building, and toilets. It would be friendly to people with disabilities.
The public park would be landscaped to allow visitors good views of the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram on Rattanakosin Island, the Chao Phraya River and the Temple of Dawn on the opposite bank of the river.
Five old buildings on the site would be redeveloped as a museum for the Khon traditional masked dance.
Nagaraphirom park was already closed to prepare for the project's implementation. A foundation stone ceremony was set for Oct 10. Construction would start in November and it was due for completion by December 2018, Mrs Oranuch said.