Khlong Toei redevelopment will draw investor interest: property developer
Bangkok Port (Khlong Toei) has the potential to be developed as a new economic city and serve as a driver of the Thai economy while improving local residents' quality of life, property developer MT Asset Corporation said on Friday.
The company's managing director, Woraphot Kantapipat, told Nation Group's media arm Thansettakij that a cruise terminal area, hotels, office and mixed-use buildings can be developed in the area.
He said that these infrastructures would create jobs, reduce traffic congestion and mitigate the impact of PM2.5 pollution in the capital. The development also aligns with Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin's policy to attract foreign investments, he added.
"If there is any policy to promote a new economic city in the Khlong Toei neighbourhood, it would attract investors," he said.
The Transport Ministry, the Port Authority of Thailand and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration have been tasked with studying the relocation of Bangkok Port and developing a total area of 2,353 rai (nearly 376.5 hectares) under the concept of "Smart Community".
Deputy Transport Minister Manaporn Charoensri said a committee would be set up to study the development, confirming that some part of the port area would be retained for the benefit of cruise ship passengers.
She said the PAT would apply technologies to improve logistics services in the area, including the construction of a semi-automatic container storage and vertical warehouses.
"This will reduce the ratio of logistics cost to gross domestic product by 0.77%, but still maintain the service capability at around 1.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units annually," she said.
She added that facilities like mixed-use projects, office buildings, residential projects, shopping malls and public parks will support Thai tourism, as well as the government's policies to promote soft power and support startups.
Manaporn said vertical residences would be built to support 13,000 households to solve congestion in the neighbourhood, adding that vocational training schools would be available to improve their quality of life.
She said an international holding company and a fund for developing infrastructure would be set up to support long-term public-private partnerships and fundraising.
All projects involved in the port development are scheduled to be completed by 2035, she added.
