Chinese firms expressed interest in investing in electric vehicle (EV) supply chain and energy businesses in Smart Park Industrial Estate in Rayong, which is scheduled to open by the end of this year, says the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT).
The firms want to develop factories to produce EV components to serve the fast-growing EV market in Thailand, as well as venture into energy development, said Veeris Ammarapala, governor of IEAT.
“We’ve taken this group of investors to visit Smart Park,” he said.
“They are interested in leasing large plots of land and are gathering data to conduct feasibility studies on their new businesses.”
The digital sector is a targeted industry at Smart Park, as digital technology plays an important role in supporting many businesses, including EV assembly.
The government is offering EV incentive packages to encourage global EV manufacturers to invest in Thailand, with a goal to make Thailand a regional hub of EV production.
Under an EV roadmap from 2022 to 2030, authorities aim to have battery EVs make up 30% of total car manufacturing by 2030, with the production of 725,000 zero-emission cars, 675,000 electric motorcycles and 34,000 electric buses and trucks.
Mr Veeris said the IEAT will continue to promote investment at Smart Park by waiving land rental costs for one year and granting a one-year exemption on fees collected to operate facilities at the industrial estate.
Located in the Map Ta Phut area and spanning 1,383 rai of land, Smart Park focuses on targeted industries and supports a campaign to achieve carbon neutrality, a balance between carbon dioxide emissions and absorption.
In addition to the digital segment, the estate also supports aviation and logistics, medical devices and robotics.
Construction of Smart Park is now 82% complete.
“We expect Smart Park to create 7,459 jobs and generate 1.3 billion baht a year for the economy,” he said.
The IEAT earlier announced a collaboration with six Thai and Japanese firms to jointly study hydrogen fuel at the Map Ta Phut and Smart Park industrial estates, part of efforts to combat global warming.
This project aims to help Thailand achieve its carbon neutrality target as well as support investors that want to use electricity and transport that are based on clean energy.