BANGKOK, 17 May 2013 – Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn yesterday morning proceeded to the Sukhothai Historical Park in the central district, Sukhothai province to represent His Majesty the King in opening “Ho Phra Phuttasirimaravichai” Building.
The building has been built in the Sukhothai architectural style by the Department of Fine Arts, in cooperation with the provincial administration of Sukhothai and the Thai Commercial Bank. It was designed by Air Vice Marshal Arwuth Ngernchooklin, a national artist and former director-general of the Fine Arts Department, as the site to install Phra Phuttasirimaravichai Buddha Image and the center of unity and religious activities for the people of Sukhothai.
Inside the building are murals depicting the history of the Lord Buddha, Buddhist philosophy on the bliss of freedom, the civilization of Sukhothai and Rattanakosin, as well as developments during the two epochs. On one side of the wall are the paintings of Their Majesties the King and Queen presiding over the foundation stone laying for the construction of the building and the consecration of the Phra Phuttasirimaravichai Buddha Image.
Phra Phuttasirimaravichai is a huge bronze Buddha statue in the subduing Mara posture with his legs crossed, sitting on a lotus. The statue belongs to the Sukhothai art, holding the height of 290 centimeters and having a width of 209 centimeters at its lap. The statue is more than 700 years old and was formerly installed at a monastery in Sukhothai province. In 1968, the statue was damaged by fire and was renovated to the original beauty by the Fine Arts Department. It was presented to Her Majesty the Queen on the occasion of her 60th birthday anniversary in 1992 when the Buddha image was given the current name by Her Majesty.
Later the same morning, Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn proceeded to a sugar factory and a biomass-based electricity plant belonging to Crystalla Company Limited, an affiliate to the TCC Group, located in Si Satchanalai district, Sukhothai province. During the visit, Her Royal Highness presided over the ceremony of unveiling the name plaques of both the sugar factory and the electricity plant. She then observed the production process of both utilities which are using modern technologies in every stage of production, enabling them to maintain high standard of their products. The 1,700-rai sugar plant is using 18,000 tonnes of cane daily, supplied by 4,000 surrounding farms, to produce raw sugar, white refined sugar and molasses, 25 percent of which are sold within the country and the rest for export. The factory targets to double its capacity to 36,000 tonnes shortly. The company’s electricity plant, which is located nearby, is using molasses from sugarcane refining as raw materials. It has the capacity of producing 36 megawatts of electricity, 24 megawatts of which are supplied to the sugar factory, four megawatts for the power plant itself and the rest is sold to the Provincial Electricity Authority.
In the afternoon, at Chitralada Villa, Her Royal Highness granted an audience to representatives of the Federation of Savings and Credit Cooperatives of Thailand Limited and the Teachers’ Cooperative Group from Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, who presented to her monetary donations for royal charity projects and educational activities at Chitralada School. They also presented models of buildings for two cooperatives to be built at the Border Patrol Police schools in Prachuap Khiri Khan and Chanthaburi provinces.
Later at about 15.00 hrs, Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn deputized for His Majesty the King at the graduation ceremony of Srinakharinwirot University in Ongkharak district, Nakhon Nayok Province. On this occasion, the university’s council agreed to confer upon Her Royal Highness an honorary doctorate in fine arts. Her Royal Highness then presented an honorary doctoral degree to a highly recognized resource person, and graduate and post-graduate degrees to 3,718 successful students.
In her speech to the graduates, Her Royal Highness advised them to maintain good relationship with colleagues by listening to their different opinions with restraint. Different opinions are normal, she said, but they might develop into conflicts and work obstacles if not treated with reasons and restraint. The Princess told them to heed the advice and wished them a success in their careers.
