EEC/international sports park

Chatrudee Theparat

The Eastern Economic Corridor Office (EECO) provides 1,500 rai in a smart city for the Sport Authority of Thailand to develop Thailand International Sports Park.

Chula Sukmanop, EECO's secretary general, met Kongsak Yodmanee, governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT), to monitor the progress of the building of Thailand International Sports Park.

The SAT is ready to build Thailand International Sports Park at smart city EEC Capital City, Chon buri, on 1500 rai land plot. The project will be a centre for sports such as sports training center, sport event, center for rehabilitation, and athlete performance, and the sport innovation hub.

The SAT will develop a large sport park with multi sports. The new national stadium with capacity not less than 80,000 seats following on the World Cup standards. There are 10 running lanes. The stadium can be served for large scale festival, world class concert which has friendly to environment (green stadium).

The sports complex also has an air-conditioned indoor volleyball court with a capacity of no less than 15,000 spectators. There is an aquatic sports center and sustainable green spaces to Olympic standards.

The investment value is expected to be 10 billion baht and will be contributed by the government budget, and open for the private sector to invest in under the public-private partnership (PPP) deal.

The construction of an international sports center will help to promote the development of the ecosystem of well-being city. It will also promote health and improve the quality of life for everyone.

The center supports the ecosystem related to target businesses in the business center project, and a smart new city or EEC Capital City. The project is considered as the EEC capital that will be able to support the increasing population.

It is expected that approximately 300,000 people will come to live in the EEC within 10 years. It is expected to become one of the top ten smart cities in the world in 2037.

“The sport complex also plays a vital role to support special target industries, and create an ecosystem in the EEC. It is a model city that takes advantage of technology and is modern. Innovations.”

The EEC Capital city has a total 14,000 rai. EECO has just expanded smart city from existing 5,700 rai to 14,000 rai to reserve for two significant projects of sport complex and the Green Industry with 5,000 rai.

EECO has already consulted to the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT). The agency will open a type of investment as PPP for Green Industry covering BCG and other green industries.

In a separate development, EECO has just opened a Women Centre in Chachoengsao province as the third centre in the EEC. The other two centers are in Chon Buri and Rayong.

The center will be a significant mechanism to be a supply chain for EEC investment.