Siam Cement Group (SCC), the industrial conglomerate, plans to invest more in next-generation industries, particularly in new innovation products, in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC).
President and chief executive Roongrote Rangsiyopash said the company aims to invest in high-value added industries in the EEC and is working on the investment plan, expecting to complete it by the end of this year.
"We are interested in new innovation products and the lifestyle industry," said Mr Roongrote, referring to the products that serve changing lifestyles, which has strong potential to grow.
Prior to the EEC, SCG had also invested in the eastern region by developing petrochemical plants in the Eastern Seaboard in Rayong province decades ago.
However, Mr Roongrote declined to give further details on whether the new investment in the EEC would be located near the existing plants, or in other areas of the EEC, which spans the provinces of Rayong, Chonburi and Chachoengsao.
The new investment could be both a greenfield project and an expansion of its existing investment in Rayong, he added.
"Let see what the feasibility study leads to at the end of the year," Mr Roonrote said.
SCG posted a net profit of 56 billion baht in 2016, up from 45.4 billion baht in 2015.
The company is one of several major Thai and foreign companies that have expressed their interest to start investing in the EEC.
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group plans to set up a logistics hub in the EEC for distribution of its goods to the Asean region.
Airbus aims to set up an aviation maintenance and repair centre, while the government plans to approach Rolls-Royce to establish an aero engine centre, and other electric carmakers to invest in the EEC.
The government aims to attract 30 leading multinational firms to invest in the EEC, which is a designated to serve as Thailand's new growth engine with high-tech and innovative clusters, over the next two years.
The EEC, spanning 30,000 rai across the three provinces, is intended to accommodate investment in 10 targeted industries: next-generation cars, smart electronics, affluent medical and wellness tourism, agriculture and biotechnology, food, robotics for industry, logistics and aviation, biofuels and biochemical, digital and medical services.
Kanit Sangsuphan, secretary-general of the EEC Office said the EEC is the action plan of the Thailand 4.0 model and will be a new engine of growth to help Thailand escape the middle-income trap through massive new investment in the areas.
He said government and private investment value could reach 300 billion baht a year in total once the EEC gets off the ground, which should be within the next few years.
"Massive investment in the EEC should help boost Thai gross domestic product to be 4.5-5%," said Mr Kanit.
The government has invoked Section 44 of the interim charter to help expedite some legislative processes and the terms of reference (ToR), and help start the constructions of several infrastructure projects linking the EEC to the other regions and to other countries, he said.
The EEC roadmap seeks to set up 15 major projects to support four core issues: infrastructures, targeted industries, tourism and the new cities.
In the first phase of the EEC during the next few years, Mr Kanit said the government wants major projects to get started. These include the upgrade of U-tapao airport, the expansion of deep-sea ports, the construction of high-speed train, new investment in targeted industries and the development of new cities.