Right now the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) development and the push to go digital are the two top trends in Thailand. The former initiative is taken to take the Thai economy way forward. Similarly, it complements well with the Thai government’s push for the public infrastructure assignments and investments in the private sector.
Basically, the EEC covers the 3 eastern seaboard provinces including Chacheongsao, Rayong, and Chonburi, which is a development of the Eastern Seaboard Region project blueprinted for upgrading the eastern seaboard region for the export-oriented industries that in fact contributes to approximately half of the country’s manufacturing activities. Simultaneously, it has managed to attract the majority of the foreign direct investment in Thailand.
To attract more investors in the EEC, the government has initiated some public infrastructure investment projects in order to improve the connectivity within the region. These are high-speed train connecting the airports around Bangkok, highways and motorways upgrades, and the double-track rail lines. Similarly, the government has managed to identify 10 S-Curve industries that refer to high growth sectors for the EEC as well as established investment incentives to encourage the investors. Those ten industries are;
- Medical and wellness tourism,
- Next-gen automobile,
- Smart electronics,
- Robotics,
- Medical,
- Aviation and logistics,
- Digital,
- Food for the future,
- Agriculture and Biotech, and
- Biofuels and biochemical
Now coming to the second development which is to digitally transform the economy. Keeping that in mind, the government has prioritized digital hard infrastructure development plus acceleration of the digital economy while laying a 20-year strategy to seize growth opportunities in the digital economy. And this master plan focuses on broadening the outreach of digital technology in Thailand.
However, there have been public and private efforts in order to build the necessary infrastructure. To cite an example, the Digital Economy Promotion Agency that was set-up to support the digital industry is planning a Digital Park at CAT’s property by 2022. On the other hand, on the private sector front, a communication conglomerate in Thailand is incorporating a True Digital Park that will house major players from the business ecosystem in Thailand.
