IEAT shows interest in 3 SEZ projects

The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) plans to invest in three of the five special economic zones (SEZs) to help boost trade in the areas, following a government request.

IEAT governor Veerapong Chaiperm said Deputy Prime Minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula had asked the state enterprise if it could invest on its own to develop the zones in order to push forward the government’s flagship policy to boost trade in remote border areas.

However, with its limited human resources and budget, the IEAT would only be able to develop three of the five SEZs, said Mr Veerapong. They are those in Tak, Songkhla and Sa Kaeo provinces.

“We choose the three zones to be developed first as we realised their high potential to be busy trade zones,” he said.

He added that Mukdahan and Trat provinces would wait for potential investors from the private sector, while Nong Khai is exempt from the plan as it will be developed by a Thai-Chinese joint venture.

The government is trying to push ahead with the SEZ plan in order to stimulate the economy at a time when exports continue to fall amid a weak global economic outlook.

However, the plan faces major problems that could prevent the government from achieving the goal. Chief among these are surging land prices caused by land speculation and the lack of potential firms to invest in developing industrial estates in the SEZs.

According to the plan to accelerate the SEZ project, the IEAT would have to spend up to 3.4 billion baht to develop the land. This excludes the land leasing budget.

The IEAT also plans to develop SEZs through joint investments with companies in the private sector.