Thai government has already categorized the biological industry into an S-Curve targeted industrial group with an aim to mobilize the country’s future economy, including agricultural and technological industries or biofuel and bio-chemical ones in the form of a biological industry or biohub in short.
Introducing measures on national biological industry development between 2018 and 2027, the Thai government aims to transform the country into a manufacturing center in terms of biological industries in Asia or ASEAN biohub.
Dr. Natthaphol Rangsitphol, the director of Office of Industrial Economics, expressed his opinion that biohub was regarded as an attempt to bring about an important transition for Thai economic system, from traditional ways of transforming low-value agricultural products into modern ways of transforming them by biological industries which add a lot more value to the products.
Currently, the Ministry of Industry, on behalf of a public sector, strived for adjusting and amending regulations to attract investment and facilitate business sectors smoothly. Also, conditions were adapted to suit better with the investment apart from adding biological industry business in an industrial company account. Moreover, environmentally friendly plastic containers were promoted to urge the need of using more bioplastic products.
“Besides, private sectors are a crucial mechanism that helps mobilize Thailand biohub industries. At present, an investment worth over 9,740 million Baht exists, particularly that in Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC). If the public sector is able to unlock regulations concerning industrial establishment, the private sector can operate a project of biofinery complex in order to fully produce biochemistry in Nakhon Sawan and encourage more investment in 2021 to around 41,000 million Baht. When the operational period ends in 2027, overall investment in Thailand is expected to increase to over 200,000 million Baht,” said Dr. Natthaphol.
Dr. Natthaphol concluded that mobilizing Thailand to become the ASEAN center of biohub was a great challenge for the country since the development could be completed in short time. However, if both private and public sectors work together, the country will certainly achieve the goal and its economic system will be fully upgraded into bioeconomy.