MDES Visits Thailand Digital Valley to Observe Progress of First depa Digital One Stop Service Building in EECd Attends Opening Ceremony of Co-Working Space & DAT
Mr. Buddhipongse Punnakanta, Digital Economy and Society (MDES) Minister, together with Atcharin Pattanaphanchai, permanent secretary for the MDES, and a group of senior executives from state agencies under the MDES, paid a visit to the Thailand Digital Valley at the Eastern Economic Corridor of Digital (EECd) or Digital Park Thailand to follow up on the progress of development to make the Thailand Digital Valley the hub for advanced digital technologies and innovations in Southeast Asia. Dr. Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin, President/CEO of the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa), led the minister and a group of senior executives in observing the depa Digital One Stop Service, the first completed building with leasable areas fully occupied by the private sector, before attending the opening ceremony of DAT Co-Working Space and the Digital Academy Thailand (DAT), digital-oriented coaching and training ground to produce skilled digital personnel to serve the EEC, at Kasetsart University?s Sriracha Campus.
Mr. Buddhipongse said the digital technology and innovation development policy and the development of digital-related industries aim to achieve the goal of becoming ASEAN Digital Hub. It started off with the launch of the Eastern Economic Corridor of Digital (EECd) or Digital Park Thailand on a vast area of 830 rai. It was established with an aim to serve as the new center for advanced digital technology and innovation in ASEAN. The EECd or Digital Park Thailand prioritizes developing clusters of design and digital innovation along with serving as the landmark to facilitate business matching deals between leading international companies and digital startups in the fields of design and digital technology and innovation development prior to commercially expanding the market domestically and internationally. Moreover, investment incentives and privileges are also provided to business operators to boost investments and demand in the EECd. The investment promotions also help continuously accelerate the joint development of innovation and digital ecosystem between the public and private sectors. It also aims to attract leading players in the digital industry to the Digital Park Thailand, while the regulatory measures and conditions will be amended to expedite the industrial and digital innovation developments.
Dr. Nuttapon said the Thailand Digital Valley covers 30 rai of land in the Eastern Economic Corridor of Digital (EECd). It comprises five buildings spanning over 86,000 sqm. They are depa Digital One Stop Service building, in which the core construction is already completed. It is now under the interior finishing process. The second building is Digital Startup Knowledge Exchange Centre. The construction is around 50% complete. The third building is Digital Innovation Centre, which is under the process of finding a contractor. The fourth building is Digital Edutainment Complex and the fifth building is Digital Go Global Centre. The construction of the five buildings is expected to be completed within 2023.
The depa Digital One Stop Service is the first completed building in the EECd. When it is fully finished, the building will provide digital-related services to the public and investors. It will also serve as the strategic working space for local digital startups and digital tech firms to help steer the smart city development. The depa Digital One Stop Service building will be the depa?s coordination center in the East. Currently, all available leasable areas at the building are already occupied by the private sector. It is expected that the building will be fully operational in late 2020.
?Thailand Digital Valley will collaborate with leading, world-class digital business companies to provide digital infrastructure services and core digital technologies in order to create an effective digital ecosystem to develop, analyze, and finally start a trial of highly advanced digital technologies and innovations such as Internet of Things (IoT), Data Science, 5G Applications, Smart Devices, High Value-Added Software, Robotics, Cloud and Digital Services. The digital ecosystem will be developed so as to connect and integrate the world?s leading digital and technology companies with digital startups, especially startup firms in the fields of Financial Technology (FinTech), Agricultural Technology (AgTech), Travel Technology (TravelTech), Health Technology (HealthTech), Educational Technology (EdTech) and Government Technology (GovTech). The collaboration aims to create a substantially constructive growth in design and digital technology development as well as encouraging all stakeholders in society to embrace digital technologies and innovations in order to support digital products and services developed from the Thailand Digital Valley before commercially expanding to tap domestic and international markets in the next phase,? said President/CEO of depa.
After that, the Digital Economy and Society Minister and other members of his entourage attended the opening ceremony of DAT Co-Working Space and the Digital Academy Thailand (DAT) for the EEC at Kasetsart University?s Sriracha Campus. Assist. Prof. Dr. Seri Kookjaenak, vice president for Kasetsart University?s Sriracha Campus, welcomed the minister.
The Digital Academy Thailand (DAT) is established in collaboration with the depa and Kasetsart University?s Sriracha Campus to produce digital personnel with skills in advanced digital technologies and innovations. It is an incubation center to develop highly skilled workforce in artificial intelligence (AI) and Data Science to cater to the surging demand for skilled labors in the digital industry in the EEC as well as creating skilled workers for other industries across the country. The DAT features a computer laboratory, AI technology platform for use in data analytics for business operators, modern and efficient digital learning courses, and a state-of-the-art co-working space. It is in response to the needs in the era of digitalization. It is open to the public to hold a meeting, to work and to brainstorm to create innovations.