WHA Group support for EEC and Thailand 4.0 at full throttle Paul Dumont

Initiated in 2003 by a group of forwardthinking entrepreneurs involved in industrial proper ty development, WHA Group is Thailand’s leader in fully integrated logistics and industrial facilities solutions.

Led by Ms. Jareeporn Jarukornsakul, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Group CEO, the WHA Group has accompanied the establishment and growth of hundreds of Thailand-based local and foreign businesses. Listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) since 2012, WHA Group consists of four business hubs in Logistics, Industrial Development, Utilities and Power, and Digital Platform.

Since its inception, WHA Group has always been a strong supporter of the Government of Thailand’s national policies to foster economic growth. In the early 2000s, it played an instrumental role in forming the Eastern Seaboard’s industrial cluster s in the automotive, electronics and petrochemical sectors.

With more than 1,180 customers, representing an estimated total investment of approximately US$ 33.2 billion, WHA’s services continue to evolve to suit customers’ diversifying needs.

Today, it is a key player in the Governmentsponsored Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) initiative, which aims to promote the targeted hi-tech industries, including nextgeneration automotives, smart electronics, medical and wellness tourism, agriculture and biotechnology and food for the future (s-curve industries), plus automation and robotics, medical hub, aviation and logistics, biofuel and biochemical, and digital economy (New S-Curve industries).

In many ways, the activities of WHA’s four business hubs are aligned with the EEC objectives. These activities include the following: • WHA Logistics is currently developing several strategic partnerships with major conglomerates and industry leaders such as Dräxlmaier, Tops Market, Central Restaurants Group (CRG) and JD Central; This year alone, in addition to WHA’s four existing Logistics Parks in the EEC, the group will add new e-commerce centres, representing a surface area of approximately 200,000 m 2 ; • WHA Industrial Development: Out of WHA’s 10+ industrial estates currently in operation in Thailand, nine have been approved as EEC promotional industrial

zones, representing 48,627 rai (7,780 hectares), with more than 10,000 rai (1,600 hectares) of sellable land; • WHA Utilities & Power (WHAUP), listed on the SET since April 2017, provides its EEC-based customers with more than 105 million m3 of water utility production and treatment capacity. Together with partners such as B Grimm, Glow Energy and Gulf, it supplies more than 2,600 MW of electricity, including solar rooftop projects and the Chonburi Clean Energy (CCE) waste-toenergy power plant; 1 • WHA Digital Platform has four data centres in operation, including a joint venture with Supernap Thailand, the only Tier IV Data Centre in the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Australia), located in WHA Chonburi Industrial Estate 2 (WHA CIE 2).

In alignment with the EEC’s goals and strategies for transforming the country into an innovation-driven economy, WHA Group offers an investment-friendly environment. It places significant emphasis on businesses that incorporate creativity, research and development, and more green technologies. For example, the EEC is now home to Chonburi Clean Energy (CCE), the first

waste-to-energy power plant in Thailand, which was recently inaugurated at WHA Chonburi Industrial Estate 1 (WHA CIE 1). CCE has the capacity to convert more than 400 tons of industrial waste per day into electricity, or approximately 100,000 tons per year.

Another major milestone for WHA and the EEC was the launch of Continental’s Greenfield Tyre Plant covering 750,000 m 2 at the newly opened WHA Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate 4 (WHA ESIE 4). Officially inaugurated in March 2019, the €250 million Continental facility has an annual capacity of up to 4 million passenger and light truck premium tyres.

“It was really a joint effort between the Continental and WHA teams,” says Mr. David Nardone, WHA Group Executive, Industrial and International. “Well in advance of their decision timing, we sought to understand their process, utility and land requirements, and then commenced civil works preparation procedures. From that point, we worked together to design the land plot and utilities

that enabled Continental to optimize their manufacturing requirements.”

For investors, selecting a country and a specific production site involves a critical and complex process that takes into account key elements such as infrastructure, site design and specific manufacturing requirements, proximity to markets and customers, presence of educational institutions and workforce in the area, among others.

Like the EEC, WHA stresses prime strategic locations that give manufacturers easy access to their customers worldwide as well as giving top priority to providing dedicated, tailor-made services to meet customers’ specific needs. WHA also focuses on improving the socio-economic conditions of its neighbouring communities to help make the EEC a more attractive option as the Government of Thailand builds more infrastructure to improve transport connectivity.

During recent years, WHA has been experiencing a surge of interest from

“[T]he EEC is now home to Chonburi Clean Energy (CCE), the first waste-to-energy power plant in Thailand, which was recently inaugurated at WHA Chonburi Industrial Estate 1 (WHA CIE 1).”

international investors for its world-class facilities. This has translated into a series of land purchases, lease deals and contract agreements with companies from countries such as Australia, China, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Kingdom that look forward to establishing their presence in the EEC.

“The EEC now plays a key role in Thailand’s growing economy. With the Government of Thailand’s policy to promote the development of S-curve industries, WHA is in an excellent position to welcome more companies,” according to Ms. Jareeporn. “Our readiness and our ambition to serve hi-tech businesses such as aerospace and other next-generation manufacturing companies are in harmony with the Government’s plans to drive industrial development in line with the Thailand 4.0 strategy.”

Paul Dumont Francom Asia

Contact details: Corporate Marketing Department WHA Corporation PCL. Tel: +66 2 719 9555 marketing@wha-group.com www.wha-group.com www.wha-industrialestate.com

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