“I think we are even ahead of the schedule,” Deputy Prime Minister General Tanasak Patimapragorn said on Friday.

Royal cremation ceremonies and related rituals for the late monarch, who reigned Thailand for seven full decades, are set to take place in October.

Tanasak disclosed that structural works for the Royal Crematorium and the Royal MeritMaking Pavilion were now 45 per cent complete.

“Angel sculpture prototypes for the ceremonies have already been cast in plaster,” he said, “For example, the Shiva statues are now in the process of getting apparel details.”

Tanasak said painting had already begun on some sculptures of auspicious animals sculptures including horses and oxen.

Murals that will feature the canvas installed around the royal urn in the royal crematorium are being drafted, telling the stories of the various incarnations of Phra Narai (Vishnu).

“Work on royal chariots is also ongoing,” Tanasak said.

The country is still in a period mourning over the death of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej on October 13 last year.