The Chachoengsao province in the Eastern Seaboard has been selected to host a smart city in an attempt to accommodate the people who work in the government’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), reports local media outlets. The smart city will feature premium-grade residential areas along with environmentally-friendly energy production and waste management. The smart city will be located along the high-speed train network.
The province was one of a few areas that have the potential to be developed as a smart city and the EEC Office and the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning will continue to study the specifics of the project, says Porametee Vimolsiri, Secretary General of the National Economic and Social Development Board to the Bangkok Post. The residential portion of the smart city will be completed in the next 3 to 5 years.
The Eastern Seaboard has long hosted many manufacturing and trade companies in Thailand with petrochemicals, automobiles and energy among the most popular industries. The government unveiled the EEC plan to help modernise the region and increase foreign investment along the Eastern Seaboard.
The government has targeted 10 industries that it wants to bring into the EEC including next-generation cars, smart electronics, medical and wellness tourism, agriculture and biotechnology, food, robotics, logistics and aviation, biofuels and biochemical, and medical services.
In order to make the Eastern Seaboard more attractive, the government is investing heavily in infrastructure projects that will help connect the region to both Bangkok and the ASEAN. Several large-scale infrastructure projects are expected to be completed within 5 years. The total overall investment in the EEC could reach THB1.9 trillion, according to the Bangkok Post.
The development projects include the Bangkok-Rayong high-speed rail, the Bangkok-Pattaya motorway, the opening of the U-tapao airport international terminal, and the 3rd phase of the Laem Chabang deep-sea port. With more companies moving into the region and transportation become faster, the need for residential areas became a priority for the government who signed off on the smart city.
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