|
|
| • EXCH RATES |
|
Baht/$ 34.38/44 (Bid/Ask)
|
GOLD |
13650
-
|
|
FASHION
VICHAYA PITSUWAN
The Bangkok Fashion City project is officially over due to a lack of private-sector co-operation, said Pramote Vittayasook, director-general of the Industrial Promotion Department.
''The project was a good project, but the department will have to drop the planned support as the business sector is not taking an active role to pursue or make use of the project,'' he said.
Mr Pramote was asked by Suwit Khunkitti, the industry ministry in the short-lived Samak Sundaravej government, to study the revival of the project after the military appointed government had killed it off a year earlier due to its high costs.
The government of deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra originally approved 1.81 billion baht for the Bangkok Fashion City project in a bid to position the capital as a regional fashion hub. However, the cost and transparency of related procurement deals during its first 18 months drew heavy criticism.
Critics also questioned the real value to the industry of costly marketing events such as a parade along Sukhumvit Road featuring highly paid foreign models, albeit wearing Thai designs.
The parties involved in promoting Bangkok Fashion City defended its costs as necessary in order to add value to local fashion products and create a presence for Thai fashion in the world market.
The project included campaigns to develop skilled designers and other workers and build competitiveness in leather products, jewellery, woven products and garments.
Mr Pramote said he had no plan to provide an update on the project's performance to the new industry minister, Pracha Promnok.
''There's no point,'' he said. ''If the private sector wants to see the project continue, they have to propose this to the industry minister themselves. The department will instead shore up other industries that truly need support.''
Wirat Tandejanurat, director of the Thai Textile Institute, said that Bangkok Fashion City had the potential to be very valuable, but its implementation and the resulting benefits fell to a small group of operators.
''Only a certain group of operators got to enjoy the benefits from this project while there are plenty more who are waiting to benefit, so it was not that the private sector did not want the project, they just didn't get access to it,'' he said.
Mr Wirat said operators in the fashion industry and related businesses all needed help, though each segment may need a different kind of support.
He said the government should work harder to help the fashion industry find new markets, train skilled labour, control production costs through supply chain and cluster promotion, and promote investment in value-added innovations.
Prev
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
Next
