Article 44 order to speed up projects in Eastern Corridor

Using the all-powerful Article 44 of the interim charter, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha overruled normal legislature, allowing flexible rules of private and public partnership (PPP) for investment projects in three Eastern coastal provinces – Chachoengsao, Chonburi, and Rayong. 
Under the normal process, PPP projects can take about 40 months before getting the green light, but the government wants to reduce the time frame to about 8-10 months.
The government plans to connect Don Muang Airport, Suvarnabhumi Airport and U-Tapao with high-speed trains. The development includes expansion of the Eastern seaboard port. 
The airspace industry has also been put on the fast track as the government aims to develop U-Tapao airport as a hub for aircraft parts manufacturing and maintenance. 
International schools will also be given special treatment as the government wants to lure talent from aboard to work in them. The new schools in these provinces would not be covered by the law related to private schools and education personnel. The new guidelines will enable education experts or teachers from abroad to work in the EEC zone.
Kanit Sangsubhan, secretary-general of the EEC Office, said earlier he expected investment worth Bt 1.5 trillion in the first five years of the EEC. He said the government planned to expand three seaports –Laem Chabang, Map Ta Phut and Sattahip – which should be completed by 2022. 
The government also plans to build dual-track rail linking the three seaports in order to provide logistics services for investors. That project is also expected to be complete in 2022. 
While the Board of Investment projected that private investment in EEC this year is expected to be Bt150 billion, applications for investment in the first quarter this year amounted to Bt 16 billion. 
The board disclosed that applications for investment in the EEC between 2015-2016 were worth Bt 287 billion, with actual investment between 2016-2018 estimated to be 70 per cent of total application’s worth. 
The government has promoted 10 cluster industries in the EEC. These include next generation of automotive, robotics, smart electronics, medical and biotechnology.
The EEC is expected to upgrade Thailand’s economy, climbing up development ladder from a middle-income country to a high-income one. Critics have pointed out that since Thailand is becoming an ageing society, the number of new workers is expected to decline, which will limit the county development ambitions.