Nakhon Ratchasima Proposed as a New Economic Center in the Subregion

(01/08/2012)

Nakhon Ratchasima province in the Northeast has been proposed as a new economic center in the subregion. The proposal was submitted at a meeting of the Joint Public/Private Sector Consultative Committee and the Tourism Council of Thailand on 29 July 2012. The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, took place in the northeastern province of Surin, the venue for the sixth mobile Cabinet meeting, under the Yingluck Shinawatra administration. It approved a budget of 20 million baht to conduct a research study on the project to develop Nakhon Ratchasima into the new economic hub in the future. The Department of Public Works and Town and Country Planning will be responsible for undertaking the study. Representatives of the private sector will also be included in the committee to be set up to oversee the study project. The meeting assigned the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board to form a working group to study details of the project to set up the Northeastern Food Valley in Nakhon Ratchasima, as proposed by the Joint Public/Private Sector Consultative Committee. The working group will also comprise representatives from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science and Technology. The meeting also assigned the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand and the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives to conduct a feasibility study on the establishment of a special economic and industrial zone for processing agricultural products in border areas in Kap Choeng district of Surin. Surin province will work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the National Security Council on the project to improve the Chong Chom border area, also in Kap Choeng district. The Ministry of Industry will accelerate the setting up of an institute for the development of rubber production and parawood in the Northeast, as well. Concerning the development of road transport networks, the Ministry of Transport was told to work with the private sector and relevant provinces for the construction and expansion of 10 roads in the Northeast linking with neighboring countries. The project aims to promote cultural tourism, transport agricultural products and raw materials, and develop the new economic zone in line with the connectivity approach toward the ASEAN Community. The Ministry of Transport was also assigned to consider the possibility of carrying out a double-track railway project, linking Nakhon Ratchasima to Buri Ram, Surin, Si Sa Ket, and Ubon Ratchathani, to be completed by 2019. At the same meeting, the Ministry of Transport was assigned to consider upgrading Ubon Ratchathani Airport into an aviation hub in Indochina and to work with the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the private sector in developing regional connectivity in preparation for the arrival of the ASEAN Community.