Thailand seeks $44b for industry infrastructure plan

The Eastern Economic Corridor project is looking for Belt and Road Initiative funds as well as private investments for its upgrades to air, sea and land industry upgrades, according to a report from Bloomberg.    Thailand is seeking $44 billion for its infrastructure plan to upgrade ports and other facilities along the country’s eastern seaboard as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, according to a report from Bloomberg.
   The “Eastern Economic Corridor” (EEC) project, as it is called, would upgrade and expand airports, railways and ports that connect to China and the rest of Southeast Asia, Industry Minister Uttama Savanayana said in an interview with Bloomberg Television last week.
   “It’s very natural, logical, and mutually beneficial for the EEC to link up with One Belt, One Road, and other regional initiatives like the RCEP or even TPP if that goes ahead,” Uttama said, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations initiative known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and the struggling Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact, according to Bloomberg.
   Specifically, the project aims to overhaul the U-Tapao International Airport, spending $5.7 billion on airport upgrades, $4.5 billion on high speed rail, and $25.5 billion in total for city and industry infrastructure, according to Bloomberg.
   While the plan references the Chinese governmental Belt and Road Initiative, only 20 percent of funding would come from the government. Uttama expects roughly 80 percent of the total funding to come from the private sector and he hopes to see more investments come in during 2018.
   Thailand’s National Assembly will vote on the EEC Act before formally asking China for state aid, reported Bloomberg.