Eastern Economic Corridor will be smart city development hub

 

Thailand’s government is committing to a $40 billion investment in the future with a ten-year plan to make the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), the Kingdom’s advanced development zone, a hub for smart cities and their infrastructure.

Kanit Sangsubhan, Secretary-General of the EEC Office, said that the office estimated the new smart city would draw 1.34 trillion-baht worth of investment over 10 years, creating 200,000 new jobs and generating revenue of 2.77 billion baht for the government over 50 years.

The project is slated to feature financial centers, regional headquarters, and centers of government agencies, digital industry, logistics services, research centers and residential buildings for workers.

Mr. Kanit added that of the total investment in the new smart city development, 37.7 billion baht will stem from government agencies, 131 billion from public-private partnerships and 1.18 trillion from private investment.

Public-private partnership deals are likely to happen for hotels, government centers, and housing estates in the area, he said, while private investment is expected to engage in research centers and education centers, business centers and businesses for the future such as clean energy, digital and logistics.

It is expected that the new smart city development would reduce congestion in the nearby provinces of the EEC and draw more people to relocate to the three EEC provinces in the next few years. This has led to the plans for residential projects for young workers such as vocational technicians.

Deputy Government Spokeswoman Traisulee Traisoranakul said that the government wants the new development to become a world-class smart city by 2037.