Key business and investment leaders from across Belt and Road countries and regions gathered in Hong Kong in September for a series of conferences, roundtables and project pitching sessions, including the 9th Belt and Road Summit, during Belt and Road Week, organised by the Hong Kong SAR Government and the HKTDC.
Secretary General of the Thailand Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) Office Dr Chula Sukmanop participated in the Belt and Road Roundtable on Sustainable Urban Development and spoke with HKTDC’s Hong Kong Means Business about the planned new Capital City in the EEC.
Dr Sukmanop highly values the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): “Being part of the Belt and Road Initiative facilitates the initial step in approaching funders and making connections. These projects take many years to develop and bear fruit. Without the BRI, developments such as ours, would be a step behind, limiting how quickly we can move to implementation and launch.”
Thailand signed an MoU with China on the BRI in September 2017. In the same year, the country’s 20-year national development strategy was adopted and, a year later, the EEC project commenced.
As Thailand’s flagship development project, the EEC covers three provinces east of Bangkok 1.3 million hectares in size – almost double the size of Guangzhou – and is home to a population of 2.8 million. It is a major international tourist destination, especially for Chinese.
Industries in the zone - including advanced manufacturing, biotech, new energy automotive and batteries, and smart electronics - align with the government’s Thailand 4.0 strategy to boost growth and transform the country into an economy driven by innovation.
Tax holidays, zero tariffs and R&D funding have attracted major companies from China, which is the top source of investment in the zone, followed by Japan, France, Germany and the USA.
Between 2018 and 2022, the EEC received investments of US$50 billion for infrastructure projects and new manufacturing facilities.
However, according to Dr Sukmanop, the zone will need to evolve its business and investment strategy to remain sustainable and resilient in its next phase of development.
“The pandemic and international political tensions brought the realisation that globalisation has changed and that supply chains must be resilient to disruption,” he said.
“The supply chain structure has moved towards co-locating suppliers with producers. This means that we need to set up entire supply chains inside the EEC zone, which has changed our approach.”
Land for industries within a supply chain needs to be reserved to ensure they are closer together and the zone needs to provide workers that are matched to the skills required in the supply chain, he added.
Since 80% of production in the EEC is for export, basic logistics infrastructure, including road, rail, sea and air transport is critical. The EEC is modernizing and expanding all four modes to lower costs and improve operational efficiencies.
The zone is also investing in renewable energy supply to cater to investors’ demand for ESG solutions and adopting policies and regulations to help businesses set up as fast as possible. This includes flexible visas for foreign staff.
There are many benefits to the new approach, according to Dr Sukmanop. “Concentrating supply chains inside the EEC is advantageous to clustering industries together.”
“Producing cars for export, for example, has long been one of our strengths and from this base, we can cluster associated industries, including trucks, vessels, aircraft, and rail into a new generation automotive cluster.”
Other clusters to be formed will include, among others, sustainable enterprises, health and wellness, digital technology, tourism, education and logistics services.
As industries within the zone mature and move up the value chain, EEC leaders are pursuing high-quality urban development as the next step in the zone’s evolution. They recognize that the workers needed to drive innovative industries are technologically savvy, highly skilled, globally mobile and demand exceptional working and living environments, including world-class education and recreation facilities.
Attracting and retaining such workers is a priority, according to Dr Sukmanop. One way the zone is responding to this demand is through a large-scale urban development project, called EEC Capital City.
“The idea behind the EEC Capital City is to appeal to companies to establish their regional headquarters in the CBD and to provide a safe, sustainable and enjoyable living environment for the 350,000 residents who will work on and within 30 kilometres of the site,” he said.
The new city is being developed on a greenfield site, about 24 square kilometres in size. It is zoned for multiple functions, including commercial, residential, recreation, education, health, and essential public facilities and services.
“We are planning to call for Public-Private Partnership (PPP) proposals next year for electricity, water supply and waste management utilities, followed by property development in the following year,” he shared.
By 2027, the redevelopment of the U-Tapao Airport within the zone and a high-speed rail link to Bangkok will be completed. These links are expected to attract residents to EEC Capital City, with further expansion phases planned in 2028 and 2030.
Urban development is one of Hong Kong’s strengths, a point recognised by Dr Sukmanop, who further noted that Hong Kong companies’ experience with PPPs make them ideal partners.
“The strength of Hong Kong is that it is a superconnector providing exposure to investors across Asia, and the Belt and Road Summit is a valuable platform for us to raise awareness and attract investment,” he said.
“I welcome interested investors to engage with us on project opportunities and alignment. We are open to collaboration and tailoring projects to meet investor needs.”
