| Parliament House of Thailand | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Parliament House of Thailand | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Modern |
| Location | Dusit,Bangkok, Thailand |
| Coordinates | 13°46′28″N100°30′50″E / 13.7744°N 100.5140°E /13.7744; 100.5140 |
| Construction started | 5 November 1970 |
| Completed | 19 September 1974 |
| Closed | 28 February 2019[1] |
| Client | National Assembly of Thailand (1974–2018) |
| Website | |
| parliament | |
TheParliament House of Thailand (Thai:อาคารรัฐสภาไทย) was a building which was the main place for meetings of theNational Assembly, the legislative branch of theGovernment of Thailand from 1974 to 2018. The legislature is abicameral body, consisting of two chambers: the higher chamber (TheSenate of Thailand), and the lower one (House of Representatives of Thailand). The Parliament House of Thailand is in theDusit District of the capital,Bangkok.[2] In 2019, the legislature moved into a new building named TheSappaya-Sapasathan, which became the new parliament house.
After the first general election to the National Assembly in 1933, KingPrajadhipok gave theAnanta Samakhom Throne Hall to the new legislature. The Throne Hall was previously part ofDusit Palace. Throughout the years, the composition of the National Assembly increased and the Throne Hall became too small to accommodate all the members and the parliament's support offices.[3] Three attempts were made to build a new building, however, each failed because the government in power was unseated before a budget could be appropriated.[4] KingBhumibol Adulyadej appropriated to the National Assembly royal land immediately north of the Throne Hall for the site of the new Parliament House.[5] Construction began on 5 November 1970, with a budget of 51,027,360baht.
The new Parliament House complex consists of three main buildings:
Parliament House was first used on September 19, 1974, as theAnanta Samakhom Throne Hall became once more a part of theDusit Palace and returned permanently to the Thai monarchy. From then on, Parliament House became the primary building used for the National Assembly, and only theState Opening is held in the Throne Hall.
At the front of the legislative building is a statue of a seated KingPrajadhipok. The statue is half life-size. It depicts the king in royal regalia, sitting on thePhuttan Kanchanasinghat Throne. TheThai Parliament Museum is underneath the statue.
A new 424,000 square meter parliament building, namedSappaya-Sapasathan, was due to be inaugurated by the end of 2020.[6] It was contracted in 2013 and was scheduled to be opened in 2015. It is located on a bank of theChao Phraya River inKiakkai, occupying 300,000 m2 of land. The site of the current parliament building was returned to its previous owner, the Bureau of the Royal Household, at the end of 2018.[7] However, construction of the new building was delayed. Concurrently, the project budget grew from 14 billionbaht to 23 billion baht.[6] The Parliament levied no penalties on the developer for missing the deadline. As the land where the old parliament building sat had been returned to theCrown Property Bureau, Parliament meetings were held in an auditorium rented from telecom firmTOT at a cost of 11 million baht per month.[7]
Around February 2019, the Bureau of the Royal Household began demolishing the remaining buildings and was merged into the area ofDusit Palace.[8][9][10]
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