Developers to expand investments following govt go-ahead for Eastern Economic Corridor

“We have about 2,000 rai [320 hectares] of land in Chon Buri, Chachoengsao and Samut Prakan [also an eastern province]. We plan to develop six residential projects worth up to Bt3.87 billion there this year and in 2017, thanks to strong res?idential demand in the eastern region following the government’s policy to develop the eastern area into a new economic corridor. This will boost residential demand in this location,” said Navanat Sukhamongkhon, chief executive officer of Marui Real Estate.
The provinces of Chon Buri, Chachoengsao and Sa Kaeo – another eastern province – are home to more than 1,600 manufacturing plants, she said, adding that this meant there was strong residential demand to serve the needs of business expansion in the area.
A survey by Marui Real Estate shows the number of units for sale at residential projects in Chachoengsao at around 4,000, with prices ranging between Bt2 million and Bt4 million apiece.
In Chon Buri province, which has some 15 industrial estates, the survey found 20,000 residential units for sale at prices from Bt2 million and Bt4 million per unit.
Developers in Chachoengsao and Chon Buri are a mix of local companies and developers from Bangkok that are expanding their investment in the provinces.
Pruksa Real Estate, meanwhile, is also interested in launching more projects in Chon Buri province, where overall residential demand averages around Bt49 billion a year.
“Chon Buri is a welcome challenge for our business expansion because the province has many industrial estates and is also a tourist destination. This results in a workforce wanting homes priced no more than Bt3 million per unit,” Piya Prayong, the company’s president of value-added products, said.
LPN Development, Sansiri, Property Perfect, CP Land and other listed property firms are also expand?ing their investment to develop resi?dential projects to the east of Bangkok in provinces such as Chon Buri, Rayong and Chachoengsao, in order to serve strong demand in the region.
A survey carried out by The Nation early this week found there were 87 condominium launches worth over Bt200 billion combined and comprising 48,683 units in Chon Buri province since the start of 2012 through to the end of March this year, with around 65 per cent or 31,914 of the units located in Pattaya.
“The government’s decision to finally develop the Eastern Economic Corridor, starting in the next three months, will boost demand for the development of residential projects in three provinces [Chon Buri, Chachoengsao and Rayong] thanks to the new infrastructure that will be required to achieve the goal,” a property-sector source said.
Under the government’s policy to develop the corridor in the three provinces, the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand has 15,000 rai of land developed into 21 industrial estates, and a similar amount for the development of a further six estates in the corridor.
The Transport Ministry, meanwhile, plans to develop a double-track rail system, high-speed trains and motorways serving the corridor, as well as developing U-tapao into an international airport.
The Finance Ministry and Industry Ministry plan to offer attractive investment and financial packages in an attempt to get foreign investors to set up operations in new industrial estates, including those planned for U-tapao and the Eastern Economic Corridor.
This all follows the Cabinet’s approval on Tuesday of the planned development of the Eastern Economic Corridor, which covers Chon Buri, Rayong and Chachoengsao provinces.
The government has assigned Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, the Transport Ministry and the Royal Navy, together with related state agencies, to jointly draw up details for the corridor’s development, which will feature investment in land, rail, water and aviation infrastructure.
The infrastructure will promote connectivity both within Thailand and with its neighbours.
Details will be finalised within the next three months.