Chiang Rai, Udon Thani Reaping AEC Benefits

Land prices for residential development in key gateway provinces to neighbouring ASEAN countries have risen by 20 to 50 percent — even though Thailand’s THB 2.4-trillion mega-infrastructure projects, including eight dual-track rail routes as part of an 8-year transport development plan, will not get under way until next year, reports The Nation.

These increase in land prices reflect developers’ expectations of logistics connectivity and thus strong residential demand in such locales, following the integration of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015. Issara Boonyoung, director of the Business Housing Association, said that though investment in a double-track rail system will not start until next year, demand for land in gateway provinces had been on the rise since last year. This has been the most pronounced in Chiang Rai in the north, which is the gateway to Yunnan in China; and Udon Thani and Nong Kai in the northeast, the gateways to the Laotian capital of Vientiane.

Kittipol Pramote Na Ayudhya, director of the Thai Real Estate Association, said the master plan for the infrastructure and logistics system would change the country’s property business across all sectors – not only for residential projects. He explained, “We see retail businesses expanding their investment to support demand in the provincial market, which leads to residential, warehouse and manufacturing expansion to the provinces in the next stage.”

Infrastructure investment will change the country’s demographics, and also expand development from Bangkok and its suburbs to the provinces in the future, he added. Once the mega-infrastructure projects are approved and well under way, Thailand’s logistics system will link up with networks in southern China, Laos, Malaysia, and Singapore, facilitating expansion in trade and investment in the region.