06 EASTERN ECONOMIC CORRIDOR
New momentum for Thailand’s most important economic corridor Thomas Hundt
The industries in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) are under a process of modernisation and innovation. The adequate infrastructure will also be provided. Thailand is now awarding the major EEC transport projects. The Thai Cabinet approved the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) regional development programme on 4th January 2017. The programme calls for a massive expansion of the three provinces located south-east of Bangkok, Chachoengsao, Chonburi and Rayong.
Special industrial zones, transport projects planned The National Assembly has anchored the funding principles and framework conditions of the EEC in the Act for the Eastern Special Development Zone, which entered into force on 15 May 2018. Companies from eligible sectors receive special privileges in the EEC provinces such as: • Receiving ownership of land without permission according to the Land Law; • Leasing of land for 50 years with the possibility of extension for an additional 49 years; • Preferential tax and employment conditions for foreigners; • Exemption from exchange controls; • Licences under the Factory and Construction Supervision Act may be issued by the Secretary-General of the EEC Committee in order to simplify administrative procedures.
EEC already a leading South-East Asian industrial hub The Eastern Economic Corridor Office, which serves investors as a one-stop centre, has a
UPDATE 1/2020
positive balance. In 2018, Thailand’s national investment promotion agency, the Board of Investment (BOI), approved 231 investment projects within the EEC with a total value of US$ 9.7 billion. The EEC’s predecessor, the Eastern Seaboard Development, was launched 30 years ago, so Chachoengsao, Chonburi and Rayong provinces generate already around one-fifth of the countr y’s total economic output. The corridor has thus developed into the major South-East Asian location for the automotive, electronics, food processing and tourism sectors. Among other things, Thailand has become the largest manufacturer of passenger cars in South-East Asia and the world’s secondlargest producer of hard disk drives. The country is also the world’s largest exporter of many processed foods, while its successes in tourism are remarkable – Thailand is the most visited country in Asia after China.
