The high-speed rail project connecting Thailand’s three major airports is expected to launch its services by 2023. These services will enable the development of cities around the project site, usher in prosperity to the community, and generate income distribution and marketplaces for those in the area, which promises an economic return of approximately 650,000 million baht. It goes without saying that this project is highly crucial in raising the level of the Thai economy under the Thailand 4.0 policy.

In addition, the project will also generate employment of more than 16,000 positions during its construction phase and more than 100,000 positions for other relevant businesses in the next five years. It will afford the Thai people the opportunity to constantly learn and understand the working mechanisms of advanced technology, so they can transform themselves into top specialists in their areas of expertise with sufficient potential to compete with others at the international level.

At present, three provinces in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) consist of a total of 2.8 million citizens. In the next 20 years, the number is expected to go up to 9.8 million citizens. The value of economic activity that occurs in this corridor will account for 14 percent of the entire Thai economy.

The data from the EEC Technical and Vocational Education and Training Career Center (EEC TVET Career Center) states that employment demand trends in the EEC – particularly in the provinces of Chonburi, Rayong, and Chachoengsao – target Thailand’s 10 S-Curve industries with the number of employees standing at 177,000. Employment demands are extremely high in the biofuels and biochemical industries with more than 35,000 employees. Next in line are the next-generation automotive, smart electronics, affluent, medical and wellness, and robotics industries with employees standing at 34,000, 33,000, 21,000, and 16,000 respectively.

In this respect, the nation’s 10 S-Curve industries are generally relevant to innovation and economy building on the nation’s former five “First S-Curve industries” as follows:

Adding new S-Curve industries as follows:

Office of Industrial Economics / MGR Online