IfG.CC - The Institute for eGovernment

Kevin Cheng, president enterprise business group, Huawei Technologies (Thailand), details how technology is aiding Bangkok to become a city of intelligence, while at the same time keeping social development front and centre to prioritise what matters to citizens.

Asia is one of fastest growing regions in the world, demonstrating a high appetite for digital development to create new growth opportunities for both its business landscape and its citizens. The ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’, or 4IR, is well underway and Huawei technology provides the backbone for much of this digital transformation, supporting urban, social and economic development in a sustainable way.

Policymakers, economists and business leaders have talked for years about the importance of shifting the economy up the value chain if Thailand is to remain competitive in the 21st century.

But the transition from low-end manufacturing to products and services emphasising creativity, innovation and high technology is a tough job and will depend not only on infrastructure investment but changing the mindsets of both the public and the private sectors.

The Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry has worked with four Central plains provinces to promote digital adoption to improve their living conditions, particularly during the pandemic.

The four provinces are Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi and Suphan Buri.

Governors of these provinces and relevant agencies pledged their full support and cooperation for the project.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is delighted with the improvement in Thailand's rankings on the United Nations' E-Government Development Index (EGDI), which went up to 57th this year from 73rd in 2018, government spokeswoman Narumon Pinyosinwat said on Sunday.

The index ranks countries based on their governments' deployment of technology to provide services for its citizens. The assessment, which is conducted every two years, is based on three components, namely the scope and quality of online services, status of telecommunication infrastructure and quality of human capacity.

In just a few short years, new small businesses will be able to apply for their permits and access other services electronically via a planned new government website that will automatically forward their information to the relevant state agencies.

The e-government portal will provide the public and local businesses with more convenient access to one-stop information and services.

Smart city development in three provinces of the flagship Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) is projected to draw as much as 100 billion baht over the next five years, helping upgrade the livelihood of residents there, according to the EEC Office.

According to Pojanee Artarotpinyo, the EEC Office's deputy secretary-general, the Board of Investment (BoI) has already approved three smart city development plans: at Wang Chan Valley in Rayong, Muang district of Chachoengsao, and Saen Suk municipality in Chon Buri.

Darunee Kongkarat, a health worker at the Mae Sariang Malaria Clinic, has a busy schedule. The clinic covers 47 villages in a populous district of Thailand. About 20 to 30 patients walk into Kongkarat’s clinic every day; in the rainy season that number can jump to 100. Kongkarat tests blood, distributes antimalarial medication, makes sure that patients take their drugs, and monitors treatment effectiveness.

Vatsun Thirapatarapong, managing director of Cisco Systems (Thailand), said World Bank studies have shown that a country's gross domestic product could expand by 1.3 per cent if Internet broadband users in that country increased by 10 per cent.

A large portion of the country's economy is small and medium-sized enterprises that are struggling to access funding, ICT (information and communications technology) literacy, and literacy in the new context of business competition. Therefore, the government should take action to help SMEs' competitiveness with ICT.

The cabinet on Tuesday approved 4.75 billion baht to finance the Government Data Center and Cloud (GDCC) service between 2020 and 2022.

Rachada Dhanadirek, the deputy government spokesman, said the GDCC is the central cloud system to be used by government agencies, ensuring safety and serving as a big data facility for state agencies when disasters occur.

The government is working to drive smart city development nationwide, where the aim is to use digital technology to improve people’s standard of living. Fifteen areas have now been certified as smart city implementation areas.

Deputy Prime Minister Gen. Prawit Wongsuwon presided over a meeting of the National Smart City Steering sub-committee, which saw the attendance of Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn and representatives from the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA), Smart City Thailand Office, and other relevant agencies.

Information and Communications Technology Minister Anudith Nakornthap said at the launch today that the scheme should help reduce the government's IT spending by at least 30 per cent, while ensuring regularly updated technology as well as advancement in electronics-based public services.

He noted that each year, government units spent nearly Bt50 billion on hardware and software, but they ended up buying old but pricey technology.

The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Ministry has been given Cabinet approval to set up an e-government agency as an operational body to drive the establishment of e-government services and pursue the Smart Thailand policy.

The director of Government Information Technology Services (GITS), Sak Segkhoonthod, said GITS would be transformed into the new agency. The change will be official in the near future.

Mobile applications have been developed to serve a variety of purposes, but sometimes they can cause headaches for users who are unable to find one that responds perfectly to their specific needs. The good news is that a partial solution may be on the way.

All mobile apps developed by government ministries and other public-sector organisations are to be gathered together under one portal, a website which will be taken care of by the Electronic Government Agency (EGA), an independent supervisory body set up a couple of years back. Operated by the newly minted Government Application Centre (GAC), this website (https://apps.go.th) will be officially launched next month.

Pushing Thailand towards the next generation of smart cities

Huawei strengthens its position on fully enabling Thailand to become a smart city, showcasing various innovations and cutting-edge technology and partnering up with Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa) to set up a special "Thailand Smart City Expo 2023" seminarand accelerating digital transformation for the cities in Thailand.

The Center, which is a sub division of the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), has been tasked with the responsibility to educate people living in the risk prone areas and government agencies about the characteristics of natural disasters and how the warning system works.

According to ICT Permanent Secretary Chaiyanan Puengkiatpairoj, the program also includes a protocol, which was designed for emergency staff to follow when conducting safety procedures.

ICT Minister Anudith Nakorntap said the ministry was pushing government agencies to invest in the nation's ICT infrastructure to support the Smart Thailand scheme and increase the ranking of the country in this area. Currently, Thailand is ranked 49th for ICT competitiveness among 70 digital economies globally. Among regional countries, Singapore and Malaysia are ranked higher at eighth and 36th respectively, he said yesterday at a seminar hosted by Krungthep Turakij newspaper.

ICT Permanent Secretary Mrs. Jeerawan Boonperm said all the four organizations have signed an agreement to create a system that not only protects online users but also analyzes threats and identify their whereabouts. She said the new technology would significantly assure safety for online banking for people and businesses.

The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Ministry is vowing to see Thailand's Networked Readiness Index (NRI) ranking sharply improve to 34th in 2015 from 74th this year.

The country's e-government ranking is also expected to improve to 15th from 20th.

Speaking after acknowledging policies and missions of various agencies under the ministry, ICT Minister Group Captain Anudith Nakornthap told the press that in general each unit has its own complete and clear operational direction as well as mission.