Amata sure estates will not run dry

Developer eases fears over drought problems

SET-listed Amata Corporation Plc, the country’s largest industrial estate developer, has reassured investors that there will not be any water shortages on its estates.

The estates have well-prepared water management plans, said Amata’s chief marketing officer Viboon Kromadit.

The reassurance came after groups of investors raised their concerns over the drought, which has already affected the farming sector.

“We experienced a drought crisis in 2005 that forced businesses to cut their production capacities due to falling water reserves, so this year we are well prepared for the drought and are confident shortages will not happen again,” said Mr Viboon.

He said Amata had to send letters to explain the drought situation to investors in order to retain confidence in the economy after several media reports implied that the drought would have a broad effect on several sectors.

Amata houses about 1,000 factories, with 700 at Amata City in Chon Buri and 300 at Amata Nakorn in Rayong.

Around 60% of investors in its industrial estates are Japanese, while the rest include investors from China, the US, European Union and Thailand.

Mr Viboon said Amata expected this year’s sales volume at industrial estates to reach 1,000 rai of land, of which about 40% has been sold this year.

Amata owns 14,000 rai of land that will be developed for sale.

“This year is a tough year for business, as not only the Thai economy but also the global economy are on a downward trend,” Mr Viboon said.

Amata is monitoring closely whether China’s economic problems will have any impact on Asean Economic Community integration, which could eventually have an impact on the Thai economy.

But foreign and Thai investors are not fully convinced about the government’s overall water management plan after the country suffered the worst floods in history in 2011 and is now facing a severe drought.

“Overall, investors still complain that our water management is not very good, as the government’s water-related departments are not working in the same direction, causing some disruption to the whole picture of the country’s water management plan,” Mr Viboon said.

He said several investors were thinking of expanding their businesses and factories.

However, they are about to switch to the eastern zone, where they believe water management is better than in other industrial areas, especially Ayutthaya, the hardest-hit area in the 2011 floods.

Amata is partnering with Tuan Chau Group to develop Amata City Halong Industrial Estate on 36,000 rai of land in the northern Vietnamese city of Quang Ninh.

Construction is scheduled to start next year, finishing in 2018.