Chana district of Songkhla province is now formally included in the government’s economic and security development scheme in southern border areas being piloted in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat.
Approved by the cabinet on May 7, the inclusion of Chana in the scheme is being implemented in a four-year plan until 2023, Maj Gen Thanathip Sawangsang, spokesman for the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc), said on Saturday.
Under the scheme, a second deep-water port of Songkhla will be constructed in Chana district, an alternative energy investment plan will be worked out for an associated project called “Energy Complex”, an industrial estate will be constructed, a new system for water and environmental management will be created, and a new fund will be established to support the work of improving the quality of life of people in the southern border areas. No details of the cost were available.
Being implemented since its inauguration in 2017 and due to be complete next year is the pilot phase of the same scheme in Pattani’s Nong Chik district, Narathiwat’s Sungai Kolok district, and Yala’s Betong district.
The government aims to use this scheme in the deep South as a springboard to connect its border economic and security development with that of neighbouring countries, he said.