Prime Minister urges faster development of Digital Valley

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has assigned officials to expedite the development of Thailand Digital Valley in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), demanding they work faster to make the Kingdom a technology and innovation hub to attract greater investment.

“The government wants to see development of the Thailand Digital Valley in the EEC as a model to develop innovation and tech centers in other areas throughout the country,” the Prime Minister said during a site inspection last week.

Construction is already underway for Phase One of the Digital Valley project located in Sri Racha district of Chonburi province. The EEC covers Chonburi, Rayong, and Chachoengsao provinces. The corridor is home to many of the advanced industries that will drive Thailand towards advanced development, but policymakers also want those industries to expand across the Kingdom.

“Digital literacy is another critical need, Prime Minister Prayut said. “Related agencies are trying to deliver digital knowledge to encourage small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and local retailers entering digital platforms.”

More of those types of businesses may start becoming more digital soon as providers of wireless technologies that support the Internet of Things (IoT) are entering the Thai market.

“We see an opportunity in IoT because of increasing user awareness and lower cost of connected devices,” said Prapan Asavaplungprohm, Chief Executive of Things on Net, a tech company. “This is the right time for Thailand to embrace more IoT, as the price of a sensor has dropped to $2 from $10.”

Meanwhile, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission said last week that 5G wireless network technology would be rolled out in the EEC and several industrial and healthcare zones by next October.

photo courtesy of https://www.eeco.or.th/en/content/eecd-eeci