The History of the Royal Thai Embassy in New Delhi
The diplomatic relationships between Thailand and India have been established on August 1st , 1947 by primarily exchanging the representatives from the envoy level. The Royal Embassies are situated at the capital of each nation. On 3rd of October 1951, the status of the Royal Embassy of each country had been changed to the Royal Embassies which had the representatives from the ambassador level
The Royal Thai Embassy formally rented the building, located on No. 15 Auransave Road, New Delhi, from a private owner. The monthly rent was 851 rupees and 11 annas. Later, the unoccupied, deserted, barren sand-stones lands had been allocated for leasing to various Foreign Governments by India Government in order to build the Royal Embassies while the public utilities was supplied by the India Government.
Lhung Wijitwatakarn who was an ambassador during that time, had requested for an authorization to rent 4 acres (approx. 10 rais) of the allocated lands, located at No 56-N, Nyaya Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi, from the India Government in order to build the Royal Thai Embassy. In 1951, when Lhung Pattarawatee was an ambassador, the approval had been authorized from the Government to rent these particular lands. Lhung Pattarawatee took over the lands on June 19th, 1953 and the Perpetual Lease was signed by him on behalf of the Thai and India Governments on November 22nd, 1954. The details of the rent are as the following.
| 1. Premium Expenses | Rupees1600,00 |
| 2. Commuted Ground Rent | Rupees160,000 |
| 3. Nominal Ground Rent | Rupee1 |
| 4. Registration and duties fees were exempt in accordance with the Mutual Assistance Principle |
When the lands had been taken over, the Navy and Air-Force Assistance Ambassador Offices initiated the construction of the first 2 buildings. Each building was cost at Rupees 170,000 to build. During that era, the Navy Assistance Ambassador was Captain Awub Shunthornsuma and the Air-Force Assistance Ambassador was General Sawat Phowihok and the responsibility was handed over to Group Captain Prawat Geerasathit.
May 1954
• the Ministry of Finance had authorized the budget of Rupees 40,000 as the construction cost for building the walls surrounding the lands.
March 28th
• 1955, as Phamahintanukorn was an ambassador; the Ministry of Finance had authorized and delivered the budget of 811,771 rupees, 12 annas and 11 pais (Bath 2,134,600.24) as the construction cost of the Royal Thai Embassy which the design had been proposed by the formal ambassador, Lhung Pattarawatee. The details are as the following
| 1. A decorated Official Residence of an Ambassador with air-conditioner | Rupees 368,520 |
| 2. An office of the Thai Royal Embassy | Rupees 99,512 |
| 3. First-Secretary lodging (currently is a lodging of an Ambassador) | Rupees 52,766 |
| 4. Second-Secretary lodging (currently is a lodging of the Counselor of an Ambassador) | Rupees 52,766 |
| 5. Maid lodging and garage | Rupees 69,480 |
| 6. Gardening, roads, fountain, water | Rupees 35,000 |
| 7. Other Expenses | Rupees 45,000 |
|
| Total | Rupees 723,044 |
The Royal Thai Embassy had Karl Malte Von Heinz, a German architect, responsible for the construction.
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May 7th, 1955
• Phamahintanukorn submitted the report to the Ministry citing that the Embassy would be too crowded if it was to be built according to the design of the formal ambassador. Due to the fact that there were already 2 military assistance ambassador office buildings existed and additional 5 buildings were to be constructed. Hence, it would be difficult or even impossible to build other additional buildings in the future. The proposition to rent the additional 4 acres of land located in the south (originally reserved by the Royal Norway Embassy but currently belongs to New Zealand) then had been submitted to the Government. |
By renting these lands, more field spaces would be obtained to provide a shady and cool atmosphere and facilitate the receptions. Furthermore, the Embassy would be surrounded by the roads on all 4 sides. The India Government was also willing to lease only 2 acres of land for Rupees 40,000 per acre as another option. However, the Ministry disapproved the proposition because the budget was not sufficient; therefore the construction was carried out according to the design proposed by Lhung Pattarawatee.
Later in November 1956
• the Ministry of Finance had authorized an additional budget for purchasing furniture and installing the transformer by the amount of 184,969 rupees, 7 annas and 6 pais. The total construction cost was approximately Rupees 1,216,740 (Rupee 1 = approx. Baht 2.6)
The construction of the Thai Royal Embassy was completed in the middle of 1958
• when Mr. Boon Charoengchai was an ambassador. In order to be deserved as a Thai bureaucracy place in India, the Royal Thai Embassy receives consistent maintenance and renovation works. The Royal Thai Embassy had undergone the major repair and renovation works in 1997 by using the total budget of Baht 19,968,600. By that time, Chujuk Construction Co., Ltd was hired as a contractor who responsible for the repair and renovation works.
