The Eastern Economic Corridor Policy Committee inaugurated its 2022 meeting via electronics media on January 7. Chaired by Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha, the Committee contemplated and acknowledged the progress of the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) scheme summarized as follows:
1. Stepping into its 4thyear, EEC has already attracted 1.7 trillion baht of capital, driving Thailand toward high-income nation and enhancing the people’s livelihoods.
The Committee acknowledged the overall scheme and benefits that the country and its citizens have gained from the EEC as the follows:
2018-2021 were regarded as the foundational period or the promulgation of the EEC Act. Despite the prevalence of the Covid-19 in the last two years, EEC has approved investment projects totaling 1.7 trillion baht (80% from private, and 20% from public sectors). These included infrastructure projects valued at approximately 654,921 million baht; targeted industries, 924,734 million baht; and area-based integration projects, 82,000 million baht. Since its inception, EEC has yielded many benefits to the overall economy including:
• Investments in the EEC area (as counted by the value of projects that have obtained the investment certificates from the Board of Investment) are averaged as high as 260 billion baht, compared to 170 billion baht in 2016 (the year before the EEC’s inception).
• Investments in the EEC area have increased to account for 52 per cent of the total investments in the country, versus 36 per cent prior to the EEC’s commencement.
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) had risen by 59 per cent in 2018 (prior to the eruption of Trade War and Covid-19 from 2019 to the present).
• The so-called “EEC Model” has led into development of skills that align to labor market’s needs, and which thus creating 14,467 jobs. There is a plan to extend the program to create more than 150,000 jobs in the next stage.
• Collaboration with state-owned financial institutions to enhance financial liquidity for business operators and local communities, providing them access to capital for rehabilitating their enterprises and relieving their impacts from the pandemic. Loans for people businesses have been granted to 7,672 people, totaling 1,052.7 million, while loans for small enterprises have been lent to 1,359 enterprises, totaling 1,986.8 million baht.
• There have been development and enhancement of communities’ livelihoods in all dimensions. Among others, the Modern Agriculture scheme has assisted farmers to earn good and stable incomes, utilizing technologies to cater their produces to the market needs; Investment promotion of a genomics service center in the EEC has enabled a precision healthcare that is accessible to everyone; The “Neo Pattaya” tourism development plan has induced sustainable community economics, strengthening the financial liquidity of community business operators and local people, through providing them access to capital for extending their operations and relieving impacts from Covid-19.
Entering the new year of 2022, EEC has sped up the strengthening of Thai economy through pushing forward its phase-II investment plan (2022-2026). Leveraging on its 200 billion baht infrastructure investments, the target is to draw in 2.2 trillion baht of investments, especially foreign investments in new targeted “S-curve” industries and green economy projects (BCG) worth 400 billion baht annually to catalyze investments in innovations that are also environmentally friendly and continuously enhancing the communities’ livelihoods.
These will help increase the gross domestic product (GDP) by 5 per cent annually, continuously raising the value of Thailand’s exports of goods and services, as well as turning around the education and skills development, especially in digital competencies that will create new, stable-income jobs.
EEC sets the target to create a foundation-solid economy, moving out Thailand from its “middle-income trap” toward becoming a developed economy by 2029, while continuing to upgrade communities’ livelihoods in various dimensions, creating stable incomes and prosperous communities for Thais both at present and in the future, as well as becoming a role model for other special development zones throughout the nation in the future.
2. Stepping into the “Golden Tiger Year”, commencing construction of the four main infrastructure projects that utilize Thai money, Thai companies and Thai people to co-creating Thailand. The state will earn 200 billion baht of return from these projects.
The EEC board acknowledged the progress of the four main infrastructure investment projects, which are considered a landmark achievement of the EEC, which has successfully pushed through the accomplishments of all these Public-Private Partnership (PPP) schemes.
And from the first quarter of 2022, all these projects (the high-speed trains, U-Tapao airport, Map Ta Phut and Laem Chabang deep-sea ports) will be able to commence their constructions as planned. These projects will also set a new standard in implementing large-scale infrastructure investments with no dependent on foreign borrowings as they did in the past. The government can save its budget while utilizing Thai funding, Thai companies and Thai people to co-create and strengthening the country. Foreign partners have been brought in to jointly invest with Thais to create jobs and incomes for Thais with a total investment of more than 654,921 million baht. The government, meanwhile, will reap a return as high as 210,352 million baht.
3. The four main infrastructure projects in the EEC involve a total investment of more than 600 billion baht, and will return more than 200 billion baht of net incomes to the state.
4. Pushing forward the genomics center to strengthen public health through providing precision medical care and good health to all.
The EEC board acknowledged the progress of the project to develop a genomics medical testing service center in the EEC area to elevate access to healthcare service for the communities and the plan to expedite precision medical treatments through hastening the promotion to encourage investments in genomics centers and related services in the EEC. The Health Systems Research Institute (HSRI) and the Eastern Economic Corridor Office have signed the employment and land lease contracts with the Thai Omics Consortium to provide genetics decoding services to 50,000 people within a 5 years period, as well as to collect database for diagnosis and identify correct treatments. It will be a prototype project in the EEC that will enable every Thais to entitle to precision medical diagnosis and treatment, and to have a good health.