The goal is to make the special economic zone covering Chon Buri, Rayong and Chachoengsao provinces a centre for the petrochemical, automotive and manufacturing industries.

“Ultimately, the EEC is meant to be a key force for Thailand’s economic growth in the coming years,” he said.

Weerasak has instructed the Department of Business Development (DBD) to increase the capacity of the logistics industry in the EEC by creating a logistics business network in the area to gather ideas on growing the industry and this is being addressed in today’s brainstorming event “Driving logistics in the EEC with digital technology”.

Logistics business is extremely important for the growth of businesses in the EEC as it supports other industries and increases operational efficiency in the area, he said.

“This event is considered as a starting point for the development of logistics business potential in the EEC and will expand to other special economic zones in the future,” Weerasak added

Currently, there are 26,365 logistics service businesses in Thailand, most of whom or 17,741, are road freight providers, accounting for 67 per cent of all logistics businesses. Meanwhile, 3,336 logistics providers operate in the EEC area, accounting for 88 per cent of the entire Eastern region and 12 per cent of all logistics providers in the country.