The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) has joined hands with industrial estate developer Hermes Cooperation Co to co-develop a new estate to support S-curve industries with a budget of 2.8 billion baht.
The complex named Hermes Industrial Estate is located in Chon Buri and spans 1,231 rai.
The facility expects to serve electric vehicles (EV), smart electronics, data centres, cloud services and medical device industries.
"The Hermes industrial estate is the 70th industrial estate under cooperation between the IEAT and companies," said Veeris Ammarapala, governor of the IEAT, during a cooperation signing ceremony on Monday.
The authority expects investment, especially in EVs and the supply chain as well as smart electronics, to increase in the second half of this year.
The number of foreign investors, mainly from China, should continue to increase in Thailand, he said.
Mr Veeris also wants the government to offer more support to internal combustion engines (ICEs) and plug-in hybrid EVs (PHEVs) through tax reductions because the ICE and PHEV manufacturers cannot compete with battery EV makers.
"The government should help manufacturers who invested in ICEs and PHEVs because they have hired a number of employees and contributed to the economy for a long time," he said.
Factories in the automotive industry have closed down or axed workers as the owners struggle to adapt to technological changes, which increasingly focus on battery EV manufacturing.
Hermes Cooperation is a subsidiary of SNC Former Plc, a manufacturer of auto parts and components of cars' air conditioning systems.
SNC Former has diversified into new businesses, including industrial estate development.
"The Hermes industrial estate will be an eco-friendly industrial estate," said Somchai Thaisa-nguanvorakul, founder and chairman of SNC Former.
"The estate will specifically serve EV and tech companies, including those operating data centres and offering cloud services."
