The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) expects its latest land sale to a lightweight brick manufacturer to serve growing brick demand and support the government's plan to help the economy in the southern region.
The land, spanning 35 rai in the Southern Region Industrial Estate, was sold to Quality Construction Products Plc (Q-Con), which signed a purchase agreement on March 18.
Q-Con spent around 1.05 billion baht investing in lightweight brick production.
The land purchase will help create jobs and support other investment projects that need construction materials, eventually helping the economy in the southern region, said Veeris Ammarapala, governor of the IEAT.
"Q-Con and the IEAT have a good relationship. The company is our key customer buying industrial land in many areas in other regions," he said.
The government wants to develop the economy in the South by supporting its agricultural trade and tourism.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said earlier the southernmost provinces, especially Yala's Betong district, have the potential to be developed into top tourist destinations, complementing Phuket.
The Southern Region Industrial Estate in Songkhla, which is adjacent to Yala, has a total area of 2,261 rai of land, comprising an industrial zone (917 rai), a commercial and residential zone (37 rai), an infrastructure and green zone (1,194 rai) and a free zone (113 rai), which is used for various purposes, including serving as a customs-free area.
There are 48 companies with 2,811 workers in the estate with total investment value of 5.98 billion baht.
Rubber processing represents 37% of all industries in the industrial estate, followed by food (11%), plastics (11%), steel and metal (11%), and other industries (30%).
"Most investors are Thai, accounting for 56% of total investors, followed by Malaysians (21%), Japanese (4%) and other nationalities (19%)," said Mr Veeris.
The IEAT is promoting industrial land sales in the Southern Region Industrial Estate by offering a 3% discount to new investors and a 5% discount to existing investors that want to acquire more land.