The construction of 18 development projects involving the information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure will kick off this year and three by 2017 to support the country's digital economy roadmap.
ICT Minister Pornchai Rujiprapa said the ministry was undergoing major restructuring to ensure it functions effectively in its future role as the Digital Economy and Society Ministry, as it will be known by the year-end.
Construction of the 21 development projects, worth a combined 7 billion baht, will entail hard and soft infrastructure, service infrastructure, digital economy promotion, digital society and digital knowledge.
The development of hard infrastructure includes a national broadband network, satellite and international internet gateway.
Soft infrastructure development consists of an e-commerce platform, data protection system and cybersecurity.
The development of service infrastructure includes a national data centre and e-logistics system.
Mr Pornchai said 18 projects would start construction this year. The remaining three development projects, involving special economic zones and enterprise resource planning, would begin in 2017.
He said the ICT Ministry expected to receive an initial budget of 6.7 billion baht to finance the 21 development projects by 2017. The ministry now has 3.7 billion baht from its own budget.
For future long-term investment in ICT infrastructure development, the ICT Ministry will get financial support from the national digital economy committee.
The committee has set up a fund to support the development of the digital economy, allocating an annual budget of 5 billion baht for the ICT Ministry.