The Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) Thailand committee reviewed 86 projects that are estimated to be worth 13 billion baht. Led by PM, the EEC Policy Committee put forth investment proposals from the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Natural Resources.
These projects are expected to be developed along the east coast of Thailand. And to support the development, more than one skilled worked are likely to be trained over the next 12 years in order to meet the industrial demand in the EEC zone and various other special economic areas.
To be precise these 86 projects need a budget of 13 billion baht. Additionally, the committee acknowledged other assignments, which include the high-speed rail project that connects the three major airports, namely, Don Mueang, U-Tapao, and Suvarnabhumi plus the phase three of the Laem Chabang Port expansion and set-up of an aviation maintenance facility in Thailand’s east.
If you don’t know already, Thailand EEC is acknowledged as an arterial node for trade, regional transportation, and investments apart from being a strategic gateway to the Southeast Asian region. Spread around a total area of 13,000sq kilometers, it is one of the keys of Thai government’s 4.0 plans in order to transform the economy into an engine of growth.
The Eastern Economic Corridor is slated to attract US$46 billion in investments focused on the “S-Curve” industries, including, next generation automotive, smart electronics, food, robotics, medical tourism, aviation and logistics, and agriculture and biotechnology.
Recently, almost 18 companies from Thailand have expressed their interest in bidding for US$1.7 billion worth of contracts in order to expand the Map Thaput deep sea port. As for the investors, they include PTT Global Chemical, and Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding plus foreign companies such as Boskalis International and China Communication Construction.
This project is one of the major mega projects designated for the Eastern Economic Corridor situated near the country’s tourist destination, Pattaya. Till April this year, almost 259 direct investments in the region, summing up to US$10 billion have been granted with 133 projects in Chonburi, valuing US$3.76 billion.
Apart from this, expansion of EEC pipeline of the Laem Chabang port is yet another project that is to be completed. Recent source says that 32 firms, including 15 foreign firms and 17 Thai firms have created bidding documents for the assignment. The expansion of this port will see two additional piers for the cargo ships.
Also, Thailand is working hard to bolster capacity building for gen-next technologies, including smart electronics, biofuels, robotics, and automation.
