The government will move ahead with its industrial plans for the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC) in four upper southern provinces, despite strong local resistance to them.
The government decided to press on with the SEC, which complements the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) that is currently in development, deputy government spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek told the media in a press briefing on Tuesday.
The SEC covers the provinces of Chumphon, Ranong, Surat Thani and Nakhon Si Thammarat and would serve as a new special economic zone.
"It will be a new economic window for the country and serve as a land bridge between the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea," said Ms Rachada.
The cabinet yesterday also approved the Transport Ministry's proposal to commission a consultancy firm to study the logistics of a route that would link the Gulf of Thailand with the Andaman Sea, as well as to conduct an environmental impact assessment of the entire project. The study is expected to come out next year.
The government's endorsement of the SEC is expected to fuel local tension in Songkhla province where many villagers have protested against the corridor, arguing that it would bring a heavy industry complex to what really is a fishery and farm-based district located in Chana.
Local residents in Songkhla province will reportedly hold a demonstration on Friday in front of Songkhla Provincial City Hall in order to show their opposition to the SEC.
The move came after a highly charged rally on Monday when local villagers tried to lodge a petition letter protesting against the land use committee that was scheduled to meet that day.
The provincial committee on land use held the meeting to vote to change the land use in Chana district from a green area, which is reserved for farming activity, to purple, which allows industrial activity.
Despite local protests against the change in land use, the provincial committee decided to vote that it would allow industrial activity to take root in Chana district.
The SEC's development framework consists of four components: the development of the Western gateway for trade; the development of the gateway for the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea tourism; bio-based and processed agricultural product industries; and ecological and cultural conservation, said Ms Rachada.
Since last year, the government has been pushing the first phase of the SEC's development, slated for 2019 to 2022.