Thai government plans mega-smart city southeast of Bangkok
Thailand is planning to build a $37-billion smart city in an industrial hub in the so-called Eastern Economic Corridor in Chonburi province southeast of the capital Bangkok which has already attracted substantial investment pledges from global automotive, robotics, healthcare and logistics companies.
The city, which so far has no name, will be built in Chonburi’s Huai Yai subdistrict, some 160 kilometers southeast of Bangkok. The master-plan was approved by a panel chaired by Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha on July 11, according to the Bangkok Post.
The project will comprise five business districts spreading over 2,340 hectares of land and its construction will cost 1.34 trillion baht ($37 billion) over the next ten years, officials said.
Five dedicated business districts
Each district will play a different role – one will house regional headquarters of global companies, another will be a financial center, another a hub for precision medicine, another a place for international research and development center and another will be dedicated to future industries such as clean energy and 5G broadband technology.
The residential quarter of the new city will be designed to accommodate 350,000 people by 2032, of which 200,000 are likely to find direct jobs in the city. Residents will be mostly those employed in the industrial area, which is set to draw investments of about 2.2 trillion baht ($61 billion) over the next five years, estimated Kanit Sangsubhan, secretary-general of the Eastern Economic Corridor.
Compensating economic slump from the Covid-19 pandemic
“The new city will be livable for the new generation of people, as well as operate as business center. We created this new project to compensate for the income Thailand lost during the pandemic,” he added.
The new city with its business activities would add an estimated two trillion baht ($55.billion) to Thailand’s gross domestic product within ten years, and the value of assets after a 50-year concession period would see a fivefold jump, the government said in a statement.
[caption id="attachment_38613" align="alignleft" width="300"] Bangkok's Bhumibol 2 Bridge connects the city center with the motorway down south to Chonburi's industrial estates[/caption] Thailand is planning to build a $37-billion smart city in an industrial hub in the so-called Eastern Economic Corridor in Chonburi province southeast of the capital Bangkok which has already attracted substantial investment pledges from global automotive, robotics, healthcare and logistics companies. The city, which so far has no name, will be built in Chonburi’s Huai Yai subdistrict, some 160 kilometers southeast of Bangkok. The master-plan was approved by a panel chaired by Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha on...
Thailand is planning to build a $37-billion smart city in an industrial hub in the so-called Eastern Economic Corridor in Chonburi province southeast of the capital Bangkok which has already attracted substantial investment pledges from global automotive, robotics, healthcare and logistics companies.
The city, which so far has no name, will be built in Chonburi’s Huai Yai subdistrict, some 160 kilometers southeast of Bangkok. The master-plan was approved by a panel chaired by Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha on July 11, according to the Bangkok Post.
The project will comprise five business districts spreading over 2,340 hectares of land and its construction will cost 1.34 trillion baht ($37 billion) over the next ten years, officials said.
Five dedicated business districts
Each district will play a different role – one will house regional headquarters of global companies, another will be a financial center, another a hub for precision medicine, another a place for international research and development center and another will be dedicated to future industries such as clean energy and 5G broadband technology.
The residential quarter of the new city will be designed to accommodate 350,000 people by 2032, of which 200,000 are likely to find direct jobs in the city. Residents will be mostly those employed in the industrial area, which is set to draw investments of about 2.2 trillion baht ($61 billion) over the next five years, estimated Kanit Sangsubhan, secretary-general of the Eastern Economic Corridor.
Compensating economic slump from the Covid-19 pandemic
“The new city will be livable for the new generation of people, as well as operate as business center. We created this new project to compensate for the income Thailand lost during the pandemic,” he added.
The new city with its business activities would add an estimated two trillion baht ($55.billion) to Thailand’s gross domestic product within ten years, and the value of assets after a 50-year concession period would see a fivefold jump, the government said in a statement.
