A Chinese-Thai joint venture has been set up with investment capital of 30 billion baht to invest in developing land and infrastructure in two special economic zones (SEZs) in Nong Khai province.
Pongpan Suntorachai, manager director of Thai partner Naka Clean Power Co, said yesterday that the project covering 30,000 rai would be separated into three phases.
The first phase will start this year to develop 3,000 rai with a budget of 6 billion baht, while the second phase will start next year on another 3,000 rai with another investment of 6 billion baht.
The last and biggest phase will be developed later on 24,000 rai with a budget of 18 billion baht.
The SEZs in Nong Khai are located in Muang and Sakhrai districts.
"The project is due to be completed in 2020 when we will be ready to take advantage of the Asean rail system. This will link Thailand and our neighbours as well as tap into the growing economy in China, which is about to build a high-speed train link to Asean countries," Mr Pongpan said.
The new joint venture will be 30% owned by Naka Clean Power, while 70% will be owned by a private Chinese company, he said. However, Mr Pongpan declined to reveal the name of the Chinese partner, saying it was a confidential trade issue.
He said the company would start with registered capital of 10 million baht before raising the figure to 1 billion baht over the next few years and to 2 billion baht eventually.
Mr Pongpan said the project would be named Naka Industrial Park, while the SEZs would serve the electronics, auto parts, electrical, logistics, agricultural and processed agricultural product sectors.
"Currently, 10 investors from China and South Korea are ready to invest in our developed areas in Nong Khai, with most in the electronics business," he said.
Veerapong Chaiperm, governor of the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand, said he expected the SEZs would help create up to 97 billion baht of added value from the investment and could create jobs for more than 22,000 people.
The SEZ scheme is one of the government's strategies to promote border trade and help develop local industries, mostly involving small and medium-sized enterprises.
The zones are being strategically placed near the borders of neighbouring countries to reduce production and labour costs. Investors will play a greater role than the government in developing them, as authorities will focus on developing infrastructure.