City planning law in Thailand's special economic zones to take a year

BANGKOK, November 22 (TNA) - Interior Minister General Anupong Paochinda says that his ministry is accelerating considerating a new city planning law for Thailand's five special economic zones in border areas, which should take about a year for it to be finalised. General Anupong told participants in the 32nd seminar of chambers of commerce nationwide, held in Chiang Rai Province in the Thai North on Saturday, that Thailand has a comparative advantage on strategic location in the region, which should be utilised in developing national logistics for land, sea and air transportation. General Anupong stressed that the Interior Ministry is speeding up approving city planning in the five special economic zones and it is expected to be also completed within about a year, timely to serve the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), set to be formed by the end of 2015 by all member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including Thailand. The five special economic zones are Tak’s Mae Sot District bordering Myanmar, Sa Kaeo’s Aranyaprathet District and Trat’s Khlong Yai District, both bordering Cambodia, as well as those in Mukdahan Province bordering Laos and Songkhla’s Sa Dao District bordering Malaysia. The interior minister revealed that the Thai government has also mapped out plans to construct several transportation routes to connect Thailand with other ASEAN member countries and he is ready to listen to opinions of business operators, while also preparing to help them solve cruxes to enable them to become more competitive in the AEC. (TNA)