The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) and industrial estate developer Pinthong Industrial Park Plc (PIN) will spend 2 billion baht expanding a PIN-run industrial complex in Chon Buri to support industries under the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) scheme.
The IEAT board decided to approve the plan, with an additional 1,155 rai of land for an industrial area in Chon Buri's Sri Racha district, said Veeris Ammarapala, governor of the IEAT.
PIN currently operates Pinthong Industrial Estate 5, covering 1,540 rai. The expansion project will bring the total area to 2,695 rai, enough to serve investors who want to invest in the EEC.
The government plans to turn the EEC, which covers parts of Chon Buri, Rayong and Chachoengsao, into a high-tech industrial hub, hosting 12 targeted S-curve industries, including new-generation car production and smart electronics.
"The expansion area will lead to better infrastructure and facilities, paving the way for the development of this industrial estate into a smart industrial estate in Thailand," said Mr Veeris.
The smart industrial estate will focus on high technology in manufacturing as well as wise energy management.
The IEAT will ensure the design of the additional industrial area is in line with its eco-industrial town concept, which promotes renewable energy, particularly rooftop solar panels, as well as a green area within industrial estates.
The authority is also increasingly promoting eco-friendly factories. It earlier announced a plan to conduct a "carbon neutral industrial estate" project at Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate in Rayong, as part of Thai-Japanese efforts to fight climate change.
It said it would team up with four Thai and Japanese firms to jointly conduct a feasibility study of the project, covering clean energy infrastructure development, zero-emission vehicles, and the storage of renewable energy.
The IEAT already runs the Map Ta Phut deep-sea port and a total of 66 industrial estates in 16 provinces, 15 of which are solely owned by the IEAT, while the other 51 are operated under joint ventures.