Posted on 25 Jan 2008
Investment in industrial estates nationwide would continue to grow this year as seen by a jump in new applications approved by the Board of Investment, according to Monta Pranootnorapal, the new governor of the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT). Amendments to the IEAT Act bring it in line with World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations and give more incentives for both industrial estate developers and manufacturers that would help the overall investment climate, she said.
''Our new act took effect at the beginning of this year, aiming to strengthen the competitiveness (of industrial estates) in the international arena,'' said Ms Montha.
The state agency has set a 2008 revenue target of three billion baht from land sales of 3,000 rai, with a net profit of one billion baht. Both figures are equivalent to last year.
The IEAT's investment budget for fiscal 2008 was set at 100 million baht, mostly for the
The government hopes to develop these two projects as green zones to help relieve the hefty emissions in industrial area Map Ta Phut.
Either PTT Plc or Siam Cement Group would help manage these projects.
''Profit is not our key objective for the green projects. We just hope both projects could survive without financial support from us,'' said Ms Monta.
The IEAT was also given 15 million baht this year to conduct a strategic environmental assessment for a planned Southern Seaboard industrial area, to ease pressure on the busy Eastern Seaboard.
Meanwhile, she said, the IEAT planned to build phase two of the Map Ta Phut Port worth between 300 million to 400 million baht to cope with growing demand from the marine transport sector in the next three to four years.
Phase two of the port would increase container capacity by two million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) from five million TEU.
The study results will be submitted to the government within this fiscal year.
Ms Monta said the IEAT would pay for new infrastructure at the port and would allow a private company to operate it. A PTT subsidiary has expressed interest in operating the new port, she said.
