The private sector will submit their White Paper to the Thai government, proposing plans for urgent economic development in the country.

The White Paper is a summary of proposals discussed at a seminar, entitled “Enhancing Regional Economy”, held over the weekend and involving all provincial chambers of commerce, under the auspices of the Thai Chamber of Commerce.

Sanan Angubolkul, president of the Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Board of Thailand, said that the country’s economy has been hit hard in the past several months by a series of uncontrollable events, ranging from the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis to supply chain disruption and high inflation.

Against this backdrop, he said the provincial chambers of commerce decided to organise the seminar to discuss the problems and to draw up recommendations to address them, for submission to the government.

In the White Paper, Sanan said, that there are proposals for each region.

For the northern region, there is a proposal for the Northern Economic Corridor (NEC), which includes the NEC Valley and a special economic zone to connect with Thailand’s neighbours, a dual rail track from Pak Nam Pho in Nakhon Sawan province to Den Chai in Phrae province and a dual rail track from Nakhon Sawan to Mae Sot in Tak province.

For the central region, the meeting proposed a project to produce a new breed of young farmers and a project to promote historical tourism.

For the eastern region, an EEC special economic zone and an eastern fruit corridor (EFS) are proposed, said Sanan.

For the southern region, the meeting proposed the Andaman Wellness Economic Corridor (AWC) project, to promote wellness and health tourism in the four southern provinces of Phuket, Krabi, Phang-nga and Ranong and for Thailand to host the Phuket Expo in 2028.

For the north-eastern region, the meeting proposed that the government accelerate the high-speed train project, linking to the operating Laos and China rail project, promoting border trade and investment, upgrading Hom Mali fragrant rice and promotion of a food and traditional medicine hub in the region.

Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service