IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

ICT Minister Anudith Nakornthap said the ministry was allocated a new budget of Bt831 million to expand the free wifi coverage which is currently available at 200,000 spots nationwide.

The service is partly to facilitate first grade students who have been given free tablets for education under the government’s “Smart Thailand” policy, he said.

A government panel has approved a plan to build a 1.34 trillion baht smart city in an industrial hub near the capital that’s already drawn billions of dollars of investment pledges from global automotive, robotics, healthcare and logistics companies.

A master-plan to build the city in Huai Yai subdistrict of Chon Buri province, some 160 kilometres southeast of Bangkok, was approved by a panel chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday. The yet-to-be-named city will be spread over 14,619 rai (2,340 hectares) of land and will cost 1.34 trillion baht over the next 10 years, officials said.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered all state agencies to apply big data and speed up transforming their operations to become fully digitalised over the next three years.

In his keynote speech at a seminar titled "Digital Government: Significant mechanism to drive the country's development" on Wednesday at the Digital Government Development Agency (DGA), Gen Prayut said state agencies need to accelerate the digitalisation of their working processes according to the digital government development roadmap (2020-2022) that calls for all government agencies to become fully digitalised by 2022.

Inspired by Barcelona's car-free zones, Thai municipalities are signing up to a "smart city" charter to pilot target areas in their communities for economic and cultural revival.

Barcelona's super blocks are neighbourhoods made up of nine blocks linked into an area restricting vehicles, thereby reducing noise and pollution from traffic.

The government plans to develop a new e-payment system that works similar to Alipay, the third-party mobile and online payment platform of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, to draw more merchants to participate in the tax system.

The new e-payment system aligns with the digital government development roadmap (2020-2022) that calls for all government agencies to become fully digitalised by 2022, said Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak.

The government is urgently addressing 10 areas that need to be improved to make it easier to do business in Thailand, in a bid to make the country one of the top 30 business-friendly destinations next year.

State agencies must improve the 10 areas seen as stumbling blocks to doing business, before reporting their progress to a special committee in January, said Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak.

The government has completed the first batch of broadband network construction for around 3,000 villages on schedule.

TOT will implement the network for 24,700 villages throughout the country with an investment of 15 billion baht, with the remaining 21,700 to be done by year-end, said TOT president Monchai Noosong.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s idea about putting occupational and income information into ID cards was met with a public uproar — rightfully so considering its impracticality.However, there is a grain of truth in the hubbub on both sides. It is that a lot more should be done to make the ID card more useful to both its holders and policy makers.

The current version of the smart ID card was introduced in 2004 at a procurement cost of almost eight billion baht.

E-government services in Thailand have taken a major step forward with the launch of a new website that will be a one-stop portal through which people can access all available electronic services offered by government organisations, with a single sign-on.

The Cabinet has also approved a name change for Government Information Technology Services (GITS). Before the end of the current quarter, it will become the e-Government Agency (eGA), with the aim of driving the creation and adoption of e-government services. The manager of GITS' Government Application Management Department, Ponpiboon Satangput, said the e-government portal, at www.egov.go.th and www.egovernment.go.th, will offer all the e-services of government agencies, as a means of simplifying equal and universal access to information and services.

The Digital Economy and Society Ministry aims to build up a nationwide force of 1,000 digital literacy trainers within six months.

Ajarin Pattanapanchai, the new permanent secretary at the ministry, said the trainers would be destined for 24,700 communities or villages by April next year. They would teach people the basics of digital literacy, imparting know-how that can be put to use in local communities, she said.

He said in the government's weekly TV programme "Yingluck Government Meets the People" that 10,000 access points had been made available across the nation already.

Up to 250,000 access points will be available by the first or second quarter of next year. The speed at each point was around 2 megabits per second, Anudith added.

Half of DTAC's spectrum of 50 MHz on the 1800-MHz frequency under its concession with CAT Telecom is unused. The concession is due to expire in 2018.

Both DTAC and CAT want to use it to launch their 4G services.

A "government app" store is also planned to pool all agencies' mobile applications. The move is aimed at reducing software licence expenses and serving rising application usage by state employees.

Sak Segknoonthod, director of the Electronic Government Agency under the Information and Communication Technology Ministry, said the budget will run from fiscal year 2013, up from 300 million baht this fiscal year.

Pattaya has taken a significant step towards sustainable urban development by partnering with Toyota Motor Thailand Co., Ltd. in an effort to create a smart city that is free from pollution. The collaborative endeavor was formalized through the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Pattaya Mayor, Poramet Ngamphichet, Surapoom Udomwong, Deputy Managing Director of Toyota Motor Thailand Co., Ltd. and Rewat Chiangchin, Chairman of the Pattaya Baht-Bus Cooperative.

The partnership between Pattaya City and Toyota aims to transform the city into an intelligent tourism hub that leverages modern technology and innovation. The primary goal is to enhance service efficiency, reduce costs, and minimize the ecological impact of the city’s operations. This collaborative effort aligns with the Sustainable City Development (Decarbonized Sustainable City) project initiated in 2020, which focuses on promoting sustainable urbanization in Thailand.

Bangkok is becoming a so-called “smart city” with an urban development plan focused on making improvements to city technology and infrastructure. The National Charter of Thailand says they’re focusing on 4 districts: Chinatown, Asoke, Rattanakosin Island and Tao Poon.

For the Yaowarat district, or Chinatown, 580 metres will become a “web of transport” under the plan funded by the Thailand Science Research and Innovation. Free public WiFi will be provided in the area and improvements to the district’s infrastructure will make Chinatown more appealing to tourists and visitors.

Bangkok Land, a Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET)-listed company, is poised to transform Mueang Thong Thani into a smart city district. This ambitious plan includes the establishment of a new seafood and fruit centre aimed at providing affordable goods to attract tourists to Nonthaburi. The development is strategically timed to coincide with the launch of the Pink Line monorail service, set to commence operations next year.

Paul Kanjanapas, Chief Executive of Bangkok Land and operator of Impact Exhibition Management, highlighted that Mueang Thong Thani is home to approximately 300,000 residents, with about 200,000 commuting daily. The development initiative aims not only to increase revenue for residents and local businesses, such as restaurants but also to promote sustainable development practices. These include energy-saving measures and safety management, enhanced by future artificial intelligence technologies.

MEA launched a mobile app, MEA Smart Life, last August. Currently, its 3 million customers can scan a barcode or QR code from this app at a counter to make their payments. From the end of this year, “they will not even need to go to a counter, instead, they can pay their electricity bills [directly] via the mobile app,” said Chingchai, Director of Application System Development Department, MEA.

Greater availability of new digital technologies raises hopes that Bangkok can be transformed

A plan to transform Bangkok into a smart city is looking less far-fetched due to the availability of new digital technologies that can accelerate its digital transformation, says an academic who specialises in the field.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has already integrated some digital technologies into its handling of the capital’s problems and new development projects, said Assoc Prof Prapatpong Upala, director of the Smart City Innovative Research Academy (SCiRA) at King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL).

Chiang Mai Provincial Governor Supachai Iamsuwan says the northern province is on track to develop public facilities, promote tourism, and enhance the quality of life under the Smart City model.

He said the province will encourage cultural tourism, safe agriculture which helps farmers earn more income, environmental protection, trade and investment as well as the health of local residents and elderly persons.

The government projects that some 200,000 jobs worth 1.2 trillion baht will be created in the development of the Business Centre and Liveable Smart City within the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC).

The government spokesperson, Chai Watcharong, made the claim on Tuesday after the policy committee for the EEC approved the EEC Business Centre and Livable Smart City project in Chonburi’s Bang Lamung district.