BMA approves Thai Cartoon Museum despite budget concerns

THE CITY ADMINISTRATION will proceed with the construction of the Bt200-million Thai Cartoon Museum as part of a mission to forge a bond with Unesco’s World Book Capital programme.

The decision to go ahead with the project came despite objections by a special committee scrutinising the budget of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) for fiscal year 2017.

The committee believes the project is too expensive.

BMA deputy governor Amorn Kitchawengkul said the project by the BMA Culture, Sports and Tourism Department would proceed in accordance with the World Book Capital agreement.

Amorn said the initial site for the project at the Thai-Japan Bangkok Youth Centre in Din Daeng district had been scrapped in favour of relocating to the three-storey Unilever Building at the Children’s Museum compound in the Chatuchak area.

He said the new location was more spacious, convenient and would incur lower costs.

The project is slated for completion within a year.

Amorn said the city would explain to the special committee the necessity of building the |venue for the benefit of the public.

He said the Thai Cartoon Museum would screen Thai cartoons in 3D format and detail the Thai cartoons’ history and evolution.

The museum would also serve as a centre for animation filmmaking, an art gallery for cartoonists and a cartoon illustration school, he said.

Amorn expressed hope that the venue would instil in people a love of reading and inspire young cartoonists.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/