Pattaya City unveils ‘THE NEXT PATTAYA’ roadmap to build a sustainable ‘city of opportunity’

Mr Kiattisak Sriwongchai, Permanent Secretary of Pattaya City, accompanied by heads of government departments, announced the initiative which is underpinned by a ‘Revamp-Innovate-Upgrade’ model. The strategy is designed to foster sustainable growth for residents and businesses alike through a ‘Pattaya One Team’ philosophy.

“The Pattaya City administration team is not only working to tackle existing problems, we are also committed to creating new standards based on a clear vision,” said Mr Kiattisak.

He outlined three core objectives: enhancing our existing strengths to make them more robust, driving new economic growth, and improving the quality of life for citizens. “While doing this, we are paying close attention to balancing environmental considerations, which is key to sustainable urban development in the future,” he added.

Infrastructure and Flood Mitigation: A primary focus of the roadmap is a major overhaul of the city’s infrastructure, specifically targeting chronic flooding issues. The municipality has adopted a three-pronged approach: blocking water ingress, accelerating drainage, and reducing the duration of floods.

Utilising ‘pipe jacking’ technology and underground pipe pulling, the city has minimised road excavations to reduce traffic disruption. Following the deployment of dredging machinery across 324 kilometres of drainage networks, officials report a two-fold increase in drainage efficiency. Flooding in high-risk zones has been reduced from 24 areas to just three, with floodwaters in regular problem spots now draining within two hours.

Simultaneously, the city is upgrading its landscape to international standards. This includes burying 10 main power lines underground and installing over 11,000 LED lights to improve safety and aesthetics.

A Digital and Creative Economy: The roadmap outlines a shift towards a digital economy, supported by resilient infrastructure. Over 2,500 AI-powered CCTV cameras have been installed, linked directly to the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) database to enhance security. Public services have also been digitised through the 1337 24-hour hotline and the ‘Pattaya Connect’ LINE Official Account, allowing residents to access government services and view 400 CCTV feeds in real-time.

Economically, Pattaya proudly aims to be a "world-class festival city", and generates significant revenue from the Pattaya Countdown event (over 5 billion baht) and the International Fireworks Festival (over 2.29 billion baht). Furthermore, Pattaya is being promoted as part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network for film, opening up opportunities in new creative economy markets.

Environment and Quality of Life: Environmental sustainability is a key pillar of the new plan, particularly for Koh Larn. The island has seen the opening of a high-standard community waste incineration plant capable of processing 50 tons per day with zero pollution, alongside utilities producing 1,000 cubic metres of fresh water daily. On the mainland, wastewater treatment capacity has been expanded to 150,000 cubic metres per day, and a pilot scheme for electric vehicles (EVs) in public transport and government sectors has been launched.

Regarding social welfare, the ‘Doctor to Home, Nurse to House’ project brings proactive healthcare to residents, while educational programmes are integrating AI coding to prepare youth for future skills requirements. Parallel to this, the city is fostering physical fitness and sporting excellence through the construction of new football pitches and dedicated youth sports centres.

Unveiling the "THE NEXT PATTAYA" vision: a city of opportunity designed to address future challenges and transform Pattaya from a tourist destination into a city of opportunity through the 3-S strategy.

1. Create: Generate new opportunities using world-class resources by merging the unique identity of a tourist city with cutting-edge technology to unlock limitless new economic value.
2. Support: Be ready to be a vital force to empower and fulfill the potential of both businesses and the public to ensure sustainable growth together.
3. Promote: Unlock obstacles to being more efficient and reduce complex procedures to make Pattaya a city that is easy to live in and conducive to business.

Mr. Kiattisak concluded, “Building on our solid foundation, we are now ready to move in a new direction that will truly transform Pattaya into a city of opportunity. The entire Pattaya City administration team is ready to collaborate, act, and take responsibility to create even better opportunities for businesses and people. Our goal is to make Pattaya into a livable city which is attractive to investment, and to support the growth of our fellow residents every step of the way.”