Massive Phuket, Thailand, Development Projects Get Fast-Tracked.

Byline: Chatrudee Theparat

Jul. 7--PHUKET, Thailand--Six development projects on Phuket will be used as prototypes for integrating business and tourism in the second most prosperous province after Bangkok.

The list was agreed at a weekend meeting on the island, led by Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak. It included chiefs of various state agencies and local administration agencies as well as Phuket business executives.

The projects include an international conference centre and IT City, as well as initiatives to make the resort island a hub for health and medical services, duty-free trade, yacht and marina services and air cargo.

Dr Somkid said the relevant agencies were asked to develop action plans within three months and then propose them to the cabinet. Construction must begin on all of the projects next year, he said.

To accommodate the ambitious project, Mr Somkid said, a 5,000-seat international conference centre worth 3.3 billion baht would be developed. The Tourism Authority of Thailand initially picked a construction site at Saphan Hin in Muang District but scrapped it due to local opposition. It now has three months to come up with a new site.

The Information and Communications Technology Ministry was asked to do a study on the establishment of IT City on the island. Minister Surapong Suebwonglee said about 80 percent of the remaining applications for ...