The Thai government is eager to build a new subsea cable linking China, Bangkok and Hong Kong, as part of the efforts to transform Thailand into Southeast Asia’s digital hub.
The Digital Economy and Society ministry is drawing up a master plan for the cable project, and lso aims to attract foreign investors to the project.
According to the report, the government is currently in the process of identifying a marine route for the planned cable system.
Thai cabinet has approved a 5 billion baht ($145.5 million) investment in the system. The investment will be handled by state-owned operator CAT Telecom via the Neutral Gateway Network & Data Center project.
Investment in the cable forms part of the government’s Thailand 4.0 strategy, which aims to transform the nation’s economy with a focus on digitally-enabled innovation and establish the nation as a digital hub for the wider region.
As part of this project, the government is also investing in establishing Digital Park Thailand, a planned new digital business economic zone, and has just approved the establishment of he facility along the Eastern Economic Corridor.