| Country name | Kingdom of Thailand |
|---|---|
| Surface area | 514,000 km² (about 140% that of Japan) |
| Population | 65.50 million(2010.9) |
| Population density | 130/km²(2008) |
| Percentage of urban population | 34.0%(2010) |
| GDP (nominal) | USD 318.9 billion(2010) |
| GDP per capita | USD 4,992(2010) |
| Percentage of employment by industry | Primary industry: 42.5% Secondary industry: 19.3% Tertiary industry: 38.1%(2008) |
| Economic growth rate | 7.8%(2010) |
Country Profile
Situated at about the center of the Indochinese Peninsula, Thailand's boarders extend from the Indian Ocean on the western peninsular coast to Myanmar in the north, Laos to the northwest across the Mekong River, Cambodia to the southeast, and Malaysia to the south.
As the primate city, Bangkok enjoys overwhelming regional advantages.
The problem of the overconcentration of the Thai population in Bangkok has long concerned authorities, in part due to the large discrepancy in income between urban and rural residents.
Map of Thailand
Source: "Report on the 2008 National Spatial Policy Seminar" (2009) National and Regional Planning Bureau, MLIT, Japan
Local Governments and Spatial Planning System
The Thai administrative system is a three-tiered one, consisting of the national, provincial, and district governments. There are six types of local governments, three urban (Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, special self-governing municipalities, and the City of Pattaya) and three rural (districts, tambons, and sukhapiban or "sanitary districts").
The National Economic and Social Development Plan, which is under the purview of the Office of National Economic and Social Development, has been considered the document with the highest authority in matters involving national spatial policy. Spatial development policies, including region-specific programs, have traditionally been included in this document, but in recent years the policy statements on spatial development have grown weaker, and at the same time the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning of the Ministry of the Interior has become much more involved in development and planning at the national, district, and provincial levels.
Figure:Administrative system
| Stages of plan | Plans | Responsible authorities |
|---|---|---|
| National Planning | National Economic and Social Development Plan | National Economic and Social Development Board |
| Regional Planning | On-going process of plan formulation | Department of Public Works and Town and Country Planning, Ministry of Interior |
| Urban Planning | Comprehensive Plan - Land Use Plan - Open Space Plan - Transportation Plan - Infrastructure Plan |
Department of Public Works and Town and Country Planning, Ministry of Interior / local governments |
| Project Planning | Project Plan - Urban Renewal Plan - Urban Development Plan |
Department of Public Works and Town and Country Planning, Ministry of Interior / local governments |
Source: "Report on the 2008 National Spatial Policy Seminar" (2009)
National and Regional Planning Bureau, MLIT, Japan
FigureNational development policies
Source: "Report on the 2008 National Spatial Policy Seminar" (2009)
National and Regional Planning Bureau, MLIT, Japan
Major Authorities Relating to Spatial Policy
| Program name or administrative field |
Organizations | Webpage |
|---|---|---|
| National Economic and Social Development Plan | Office of National Economic and Social Development | http://www.nesdb.go.th/ |
| Spatial plans | Department of Public Works, Town & Country Planning of the Ministry of the Interior | http://www.dpt.go.th/ |
| Urban plans | BMA Department of City Planning | http://cpd.bangkok.go.th/default.asp?LANG=ENG |
Socioeconomic Planning System at the National Level (National Economic and Social Development Plan)
The purpose of the National Economic and Social Development Plan is to function as a national policy framework and to serve as a set of guidelines for policy-makers and government agencies when drafting or revising specific development policies. The initial development plan was for a six-year period, but successive plans have spanned a five-year period.
The National Economic and Social Development Plan is drafted by the Office of National Economic and Social Development, approved by the cabinet, and promulgated by government decree. The current plan is the 10th, and covers the 2007-2010 period.
Past plans have had salient purposes and clear titles such as gRegional Developmenth and devoted considerable space to the topic of spatial development, but since the 9th plan spatial development has received very little attention.
In the 10th and current plan, the chief concern in terms of national development seems to be social development and higher standards of living. More than 90% of the document is devoted to these fields. Although regional development is touched upon sporadically and in a piecemeal fashion, national and regional policies of a decidedly spatial nature are virtually absent from its pages.
Spatial Planning System at the National and Regional Levels (National and Regional Spatial Development Plans)
Figure:National development policies
"Report on the 2008 National Spatial Policy Seminar" (2009), National and Regional Planning Bureau, MLIT, Japan
The Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning of the Ministry of the Interior, which is in charge of spatial planning (urban and rural plans), began its efforts at regional development and planning at the national, district, and provincial levels as a result of a 2002 cabinet resolution.
The formulation phase of the regional plans, by the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning, had been completed as of January of 2009 and they were awaiting cabinet approval. These regional plans are divided into three types: long-term (50 years), medium-term (10 to 15 years), and short-term (five years).
Domestic factors such as lopsided levels of development among different regions, the exhaustion of natural resources, and economic disparities between rural and urban areas, together with external considerations like globalization, competitiveness, sustainable development, administrative decentralization, higher quality-of-life levels, and global warming, were some of the underlying reasons behind the drafting of these national and regional spatial development plans.
The national plan comprises a set of measures and strategies to address national development, urban systems, hierarchies, function, industry, infrastructure, and public facilities. They will be implemented pending a cabinet resolution. The regional plans will apply to six regions: Central Thailand, Bangkok, and the northern, eastern, northeastern, and southern regions of the country.
Metropolitan Planning System (Bangkok Comprehensive Plan)
Figure:Regional spatial development plan (proposal) for Bangkok and outlying areas
"Report on the 2008 National Spatial Policy Seminar" (2009), National and Regional Planning Bureau, MLIT, Japan
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) created the Bangkok Comprehensive Plan (the gmaster planh) based on the Urban Planning Act of 1975. The current plan is called the gBangkok Land-Use Plan 2006h and is to last from 2006 to 2011.
In addition to this plan, BMA has been collaborating with neighboring provinces on urban, spatial, large-volume transport and other plans that derive from the Tenth National Economic and Social Development Plan.
The Office of National Economic and Social Development (NESB), which is the primary organ for government policy-making, and the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning of the Ministry of the Interior, which is responsible for translating government policies into concrete programs and schemes, both play important roles in the formulation of broad-area regional plans for the capital region. When drafting such regional policies, committees whose membership includes concerned parties in the relevant areas (including BMA) and government organs are created by NESB.
Comprehensive International Programs for Regional Cooperation
The following are examples of comprehensive international programs for regional cooperation with neighboring countries:
- Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS)
- Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC)
- Mekong River Commission (MRC)
- Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC)
