Two giant pandas will be sent from China to Chiang Mai Zoo in northern Thailand around mid-2003, instead of a newly-built nearby safari park, according to local TV news reports Monday.

According to an agreement reached during Chinese top legislator Li Peng's visit to the kingdom last September, China will provide Thailand with a pair of giant pandas, the country's unique precious animal, on a lease contract of 10 years.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra himself made the decision that the panda pair should stay in Chiang Mai Zoo instead of being sent to a safari park as some suggested, saying that it will be easier for Thais to see pandas at the zoo, which is located in Chiang Mai, a northern Thai metropolitan, 700 km north of Bangkok.

Military technicians will build an air-conditioned glass house worth some US$1 million for the pandas at the Chiang Mai Zoo.

Thai and Chinese officials are expected to meet in Chiang Mai next month to prepare for the 10-year stay of the pandas in Thailand.

Thailand has been requesting China to send a pair of pandas to the kingdom for a long time since China's giant panda made its debut in the kingdom six years ago, which charmed the whole Thai nation.

The kingdom will also hold a nationwide contest for selecting Thai names for the panda pair.

(Xinhua News Agency November 25, 2002)