Electrical and Electronics Industriesiad.bangkok.go.th/sites/default/files/section3_1_2.pdf · Due...
12
Discovering the City 46 During the past years, Bangkok has become one of the main clusters of the software development community in Thailand. Spearheaded by Software Park, more and more software companies, large and small, began to look at Bangkok as an ideal place to set up their operations. One example is Reuters Software, an early entrant located at a regional software development center in Thailand, which is now the largest such center. With a wide selection of graduates and skilled professionals, Reuters Thailand center was the first to attain CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration) Level 5 certification, an internationally accepted standard for software outsourcing organizations. There are many investment opportunities in the software sector, particularly in multimedia, business solutions, animation and telecom software for mobile phones. Due to the growing demand for programmers more universities have added software programming courses to their syllabus. Software Park Building Electrical and Electronics Industries The Kingdom has become the largest production base for Japanese white goods in Southeast Asia. With many international manufacturers having production facilities in Thailand, electrical and electronic products account for one-third of the country’s export revenue, and this sector employs over 600,000 people. The Thai Government has set the target for Thailand to become the regional electrical and electronics hub within 5 years. In fact, the country already dominates in key industry niches. For instance, in 2005 Thailand overtook Singapore to become the world’s #1 manufacturer and exporter of hard disk drives. Although most of the electrical and electronic manufacturing is not located in Bangkok, there exist vast opportunities for using Bangkok as the country’s center of research, design and testing for this industry, such as prototype design and production. Software Development: Thailand’s software industry has developed rapidly and is presently able to offer a variety of services, including programming/coding, data entry, design and development, document conversion, geographic information services, labor-intensive services, and especially web and software development are now viable and cost-effective in Thailand. Discovering the City
Transcript of Electrical and Electronics Industriesiad.bangkok.go.th/sites/default/files/section3_1_2.pdf · Due...
Discovering the City
46
Durin
g th
e pa
st y
ears
, Ban
gkok
has
be
com
e on
e of
the
mai
n cl
uste
rs o
f th
e so
ftwar
e de
velo
pmen
t com
mun
ity
in T
haila
nd. S
pear
head
ed b
y So
ftwar
e Pa
rk, m
ore
and
mor
e so
ftwar
e co
mpa
nies
, lar
ge a
nd s
mal
l, be
gan
to
look
at B
angk
ok a
s an
idea
l pla
ce to
se
t up
thei
r ope
ratio
ns. O
ne e
xam
ple
is R
eute
rs S
oftw
are,
an
early
ent
rant
lo
cate
d at
a re
gion
al s
oftw
are
deve
lopm
ent c
ente
r in
Thai
land
, w
hich
is n
ow th
e la
rges
t suc
h ce
nter
. W
ith a
wid
e se
lect
ion
of g
radu
ates
an
d sk
illed
pro
fess
iona
ls, R
eute
rs
Thai
land
cen
ter w
as th
e fi r
st to
atta
in
CMM
I (Ca
pabi
lity
Mat
urity
Mod
el
Inte
grat
ion)
Lev
el 5
cer
tifi c
atio
n,
an in
tern
atio
nally
acc
epte
d st
anda
rd
for s
oftw
are
outs
ourc
ing
orga
niza
tions
.
Ther
e ar
e m
any i
nves
tmen
t opp
ortu
nitie
s in
the
softw
are
sect
or, p
artic
ular
ly
in m
ultim
edia
, bus
ines
s so
lutio
ns,
anim
atio
n an
d te
leco
m s
oftw
are
for
mob
ile p
hone
s.
Due
to th
e gr
owin
g de
man
d fo
r pr
ogra
mm
ers
mor
e un
iver
sitie
s ha
ve a
dded
sof
twar
e pr
ogra
mm
ing
cour
ses
to th
eir s
ylla
bus.
Softw
are
Park
Bui
ldin
g
Elec
trica
l and
Ele
ctro
nics
Indu
strie
s
The
King
dom
has
bec
ome
the
larg
est
prod
uctio
n ba
se fo
r Jap
anes
e w
hite
go
ods
in S
outh
east
Asi
a. W
ith m
any
inte
rnat
iona
l man
ufac
ture
rs h
avin
g pr
oduc
tion
faci
litie
s in
Tha
iland
, el
ectri
cal a
nd e
lect
roni
c pr
oduc
ts
acco
unt f
or o
ne-th
ird o
f the
cou
ntry
’s ex
port
reve
nue,
and
this
sec
tor
empl
oys
over
600
,000
peo
ple.
The
Thai
Gov
ernm
ent h
as s
et th
e ta
rget
for T
haila
nd to
bec
ome
the
regi
onal
ele
ctric
al a
nd e
lect
roni
cs
hub
with
in 5
yea
rs. I
n fa
ct, t
he c
ount
ry
alre
ady
dom
inat
es in
key
indu
stry
ni
ches
. For
inst
ance
, in
2005
Tha
iland
ov
erto
ok S
inga
pore
to b
ecom
e th
e w
orld
’s #1
man
ufac
ture
r and
exp
orte
r of
har
d di
sk d
rives
.
Alth
ough
mos
t of t
he e
lect
rical
and
el
ectro
nic
man
ufac
turin
g is
not
lo
cate
d in
Ban
gkok
, the
re e
xist
vas
t op
portu
nitie
s fo
r usi
ng B
angk
ok a
s th
e co
untry
’s ce
nter
of r
esea
rch,
des
ign
and
test
ing
for t
his
indu
stry
, suc
h as
pr
otot
ype
desi
gn a
nd p
rodu
ctio
n.
Softw
are
Dev
elop
men
t: Th
aila
nd’s
softw
are
indu
stry
has
dev
elop
ed
rapi
dly
and
is p
rese
ntly
abl
e to
offe
r a
varie
ty o
f ser
vice
s, in
clud
ing
prog
ram
min
g/co
ding
, dat
a en
try,
desi
gn a
nd d
evel
opm
ent,
docu
men
t co
nver
sion
, geo
grap
hic
info
rmat
ion
serv
ices
, lab
or-in
tens
ive
serv
ices
, an
d es
peci
ally
web
and
sof
twar
e de
velo
pmen
t are
now
via
ble
and
cost
-effe
ctiv
e in
Tha
iland
.
Discovering the City
47
Heal
th S
ervi
ce: B
angk
ok is
reco
gnize
d gl
obal
ly a
s a
fi rst
cla
ss h
ealth
car
e ce
nter
with
faci
litie
s th
at m
eet
inte
rnat
iona
l sta
ndar
ds. T
he p
rivat
e ho
spita
l mar
ket i
n Th
aila
nd p
rovi
des
high
sta
ndar
d m
edic
al s
ervi
ces
and
is
grow
ing
year
by
year
. Gro
wth
is b
ased
bo
th o
n do
mes
tic a
nd fo
reig
n pa
tient
s.
The
com
bina
tion
of lo
w-c
ost
high
-qua
lity
med
ical
car
e is
one
of t
he
mai
n re
ason
s w
hy fo
reig
ners
cho
ose
Thai
land
whe
n se
ekin
g m
edic
al
atte
ntio
n. T
he c
ost o
f med
ical
se
rvic
es in
Ban
gkok
is ty
pica
lly 5
0 pe
rcen
t or m
ore
belo
w E
urop
ean
pric
es, a
nd e
ven
low
er w
hen
com
pare
d w
ith N
orth
Am
eric
an
med
ical
cos
ts. T
reat
men
ts a
vaila
ble
in T
haila
nd in
clud
e he
art s
urge
ry,
cosm
etic
sur
gery
, las
er e
ye s
urge
ry
and
com
plex
den
tal p
roce
dure
s.
The
lead
ing
hosp
itals
in B
angk
ok a
re
usin
g th
e m
ost a
dvan
ced
back
offi
ce
IT in
frast
ruct
ure,
suc
h as
enh
ance
d da
taba
se m
anag
emen
t tha
t is
cust
omer
focu
sed,
put
ting
info
rmat
ion
such
as
patie
nt re
cord
s, a
ppoi
ntm
ent
sche
dulin
g, d
iagn
ostic
imag
es, b
illin
g an
d ph
arm
acy
labe
ls o
nlin
e an
d in
a
sing
le d
atab
ase.
In a
dditi
on, t
here
is a
var
iety
of
oppo
rtuni
ties
for t
ouris
ts s
eeki
ng
wel
lnes
s an
d he
alth
thro
ugh
mor
e “a
ltern
ativ
e” o
r “ho
listic
” m
etho
ds.
Thai
land
has
trad
ition
ally
bee
n a
cent
er o
f anc
ient
hea
ling,
bas
ed
on h
erba
l med
icin
e an
d ho
listic
tre
atm
ents
. Hol
istic
hea
ling
tech
niqu
es h
ave
beco
me
a po
pula
r al
tern
ativ
e to
con
vent
iona
l med
ical
tre
atm
ents
.
Envi
ronm
enta
l Was
te
Man
agem
ent:
Ther
e is
a ra
nge
of
oppo
rtuni
ties
that
exi
st
with
in a
reas
suc
h as
co
mpo
stin
g re
cycl
ing,
sor
ting
and
chem
ical
trea
tmen
t tec
hnol
ogy,
and
so
lid w
aste
dis
posa
l. Fu
rther
mor
e,
tech
nolo
gy a
nd k
now
-how
rega
rdin
g en
ergy
sol
utio
ns, s
ortin
g eq
uipm
ent,
recy
clin
g, re
cycl
ing
tech
nolo
gy
and
rene
wab
le e
nerg
y te
chno
logy
co
uld
be a
reas
of i
nter
est f
or fo
reig
n co
mpa
nies
.
Inve
stm
ent o
ppor
tuni
ties
exis
t for
tu
rnin
g Ba
ngko
k’s e
xten
sive
was
te
disp
osal
into
ele
ctric
ity g
ener
atio
n an
d fe
rtiliz
ers.
Aut
omot
ive
The
coun
try h
as e
arne
d in
tern
atio
nal
reco
gniti
on a
s th
e “D
etro
it of
Asi
a”
and
is th
e la
rges
t pro
duce
r of c
ars
in
ASEA
N, w
ith a
n an
nual
pro
duct
ion
of
1.2
mill
ion
units
, and
is a
lso
the
wor
ld’s
seco
nd la
rges
t pro
duce
r and
exp
orte
r of
pic
k-up
truc
ks. J
apan
ese,
Am
eric
an
and
Germ
an o
wne
d au
tom
obile
fa
ctor
ies
have
pro
duce
d a
larg
e nu
mbe
r of s
ub-s
uppl
iers
.
Doub
le d
igit
expo
rt gr
owth
ove
r the
pa
st fe
w y
ears
illu
stra
tes
Thai
land
’s ris
ing
sign
ifi ca
nce
as a
regi
onal
au
tom
otiv
e hu
b. T
haila
nd c
urre
ntly
ex
ports
40
perc
ent o
f its
aut
omob
ile
prod
uctio
n. T
hese
exp
ort fi
gur
es a
re
expe
cted
to in
crea
se s
igni
fi can
tly d
ue
to fr
ee tr
ade
agre
emen
ts w
ith s
ome
of
its m
ajor
trad
ing
partn
ers:
Aus
tralia
, N
ew Z
eala
nd, C
hina
and
Indi
a.
The
exte
nsiv
e su
ppor
ting
netw
ork
of a
uto
parts
man
ufac
ture
rs is
a
cruc
ial a
dvan
tage
con
tribu
ting
to
the
indu
stry
’s st
reng
th w
hile
giv
ing
Thai
land
an
edge
ove
r com
petit
ors.
Durin
g 19
98-2
005
the
dom
estic
au
tom
obile
mar
ket g
rew
at a
n av
erag
e of
35
perc
ent p
er a
nnum
. Thi
s gr
owth
is
exp
ecte
d to
con
tinue
and
Ban
gkok
, w
hich
has
the
high
est p
urch
asin
g po
wer
, will
con
tinue
to a
bsor
b m
ost
of it
. Mor
eove
r, w
ith th
e la
rge
supp
ly
of q
ualifi
ed
man
pow
er B
angk
ok w
ill
serv
e as
the
indu
stry
’s ce
nter
for
tech
nica
l ser
vice
s an
d gl
obal
sou
rcin
g.
Sour
ce: T
he T
hai A
utom
otiv
e In
dust
ry A
ssoc
iatio
n
Discovering the City
48
Discovering the City
49
Agr
o-in
dust
ry:
The
“Kitc
hen
of th
e W
orld
”
Thai
land
is o
ne o
f the
wor
ld’s
fi ve
net
food
exp
orte
rs. I
t is
the
wor
ld’s
larg
est
expo
rter o
f ric
e, s
ugar
, cas
sava
, ca
nned
tuna
& p
inea
pple
, and
froz
en
chic
ken
& s
eafo
od. G
iven
the
grow
ing
com
petit
ion
in th
e w
orld
mar
ket,
Thai
land
nee
ds to
mov
e up
the
valu
e ch
ain
and
conc
entra
te o
n pr
oduc
ts
with
hig
her v
alue
add
ed. M
oreo
ver,
inte
rnat
iona
l mar
kets
are
bec
omin
g m
ore
dem
andi
ng a
s re
gard
s fo
od
safe
ty a
nd s
tand
ards
. Giv
en m
ore
soph
istic
ated
infra
stru
ctur
e, B
angk
ok
will
con
tinue
to p
lay
an im
porta
nt ro
le
as a
cen
ter f
or fo
od s
afet
y, in
spec
tion,
di
strib
utio
n, a
nd b
io-te
ch re
sear
ch.
Discovering the City
50
Wo
rk
Fo
rc
e
Educ
ated
Wor
kfor
ce
The
size
of t
he w
ork
forc
e no
w e
xcee
ds 3
4.1
mill
ion,
with
the
maj
ority
of t
he
wor
kfor
ce u
nder
30
year
s of
age
. Eac
h ye
ar a
bout
800
,000
peo
ple
join
this
fo
rce,
with
a li
tera
cy ra
te a
bove
90
perc
ent.
It ha
s a
suffi
cien
t qua
lifi e
d w
ork
forc
e, w
ith 1
7,00
0 ne
w e
ngin
eerin
g gr
adua
tes
and
200,
000
tech
nici
an g
radu
ates
eac
h ye
ar.
The
Thai
Gov
ernm
ent i
s in
stitu
ting
refo
rms
aim
ed to
ens
ure
a sk
illed
and
ed
ucat
ed w
orkf
orce
. To
begi
n w
ith, w
e ar
e:
ú I
ntro
duci
ng c
ompr
ehen
sive
edu
catio
n re
form
s to
ens
ure
that
all
stu
dent
s co
mpl
ete
a m
inim
um o
f 12
year
s of
sch
oolin
g an
d th
at b
y 20
08
half
of a
ll hi
gh s
choo
l stu
dent
s w
ill a
ttend
uni
vers
ity.
úEn
cour
agin
g Th
ai u
nive
rsiti
es to
exp
and
inte
rnat
iona
lly-li
nked
deg
ree
prog
ram
s to
cov
er a
wid
er ra
nge
of d
isci
plin
es.
200
150
100 50 0
Wag
e Ra
te in
Ban
gkok
and
Vic
inity
(Uni
t: Ba
ht/d
ay)
Jul
. 199
5 O
ct. 1
996
Jan.
199
8 Ja
n. 2
001
Jan.
200
2 Ja
n. 2
003
Aug
. 200
3 N
ov. 2
003
Jan.
200
5 Ja
n. 2
006
145
157
162
165
165
169
169
170
175
184
Sour
ce: D
epar
tmen
t of L
obou
r Pro
tect
ion
and
Wel
fare
, Min
istry
of L
abou
r
APP
ROXI
MAT
E M
ON
THLY
SA
LARI
ES F
OR
SELE
CTED
PO
SITI
ON
S
Posi
tion
B
aht
IT m
anag
er
90,
000
- 150
,000
Plan
t man
ager
73,0
00
Hum
an re
sour
ces
dire
ctor
71,0
00
Web
mas
ter
45
,000
- 60
,000
Net
wor
k ad
min
istra
tor
45
,000
- 55
,000
Offi c
e m
anag
er
48
,000
Exec
utiv
e se
cret
ary
32
,000
Sale
s / m
arke
ting
staf
f
24,0
00
Gene
ral o
ffi ce
sta
ff
15,0
00
Sour
ce: N
atio
nal S
tatis
tic O
ffi ce
Sour
ce: N
atio
nal S
tatis
tic O
ffi ce
Sour
ce :
Boar
d of
Inve
stm
ent (
BOI)
Discovering the City
51
Ext
ensi
ve
Tr
ansp
or
tati
on
Net
wo
rk
s Ava
ilab
ilit
y
Thai
land
has
one
of t
he m
ost d
evel
oped
and
ext
ensi
ve tr
ansp
orta
tion
netw
orks
in
the
regi
on. T
he c
ount
ry is
the
size
of F
ranc
e an
d ne
eds
an e
xten
sive
tra
nspo
rtatio
n ne
twor
k to
sup
port
its la
rge
dom
estic
mar
ket a
nd u
se a
s a
base
for s
ervi
cing
Indo
-Chi
na a
nd A
SEAN
.
Bang
kok
is id
eally
loca
ted
as T
haila
nd’s
trans
porta
tion
hub,
con
nect
ing
with
th
e re
st o
f the
cou
ntry
by
land
, air,
and
sea
, and
tele
com
mun
icat
ion
syst
ems.
Th
e ci
ty’s
loca
l tra
nspo
rtatio
n sy
stem
pro
vide
s da
ily s
ervi
ce fo
r the
peo
ple
of
Bang
kok,
com
mut
ers
from
the
subu
rbs,
and
trav
eler
s fro
m th
e re
st o
f the
co
untry
and
aro
und
the
wor
ld. B
angk
ok is
a k
alei
dosc
ope
of m
ovin
g ca
rs,
buse
s, tr
ains
, tuk
-tuks
(thr
ee w
heel
taxi
s), b
oats
, Sky
Tra
ins
and
subw
ays.
Bang
kok
has
an e
xten
sive
net
wor
k of
exp
ress
way
s, h
ighw
ays,
wat
erw
ays,
br
idge
s, a
nd tu
nnel
s to
ens
ure
the
smoo
th fl
ow o
f tra
nspo
rtatio
n. T
he B
MA,
al
ong
with
the
Bang
kok
Met
ropo
litan
Tra
nspo
rt Au
thor
ity, t
he P
olic
e De
partm
ent,
and
the
Min
istry
of T
rans
port
is c
onst
antly
pro
vidi
ng s
ervi
ce
to c
omm
uter
s an
d m
anag
ing
the
traffi
c to
ens
ure
the
city
’s tra
nspo
rtatio
n de
man
ds a
re m
et a
nd ru
n sm
ooth
ly.
The
BMA
annu
ally
ove
rsee
s ne
w c
onst
ruct
ion
of b
ridge
s, w
heth
er th
ey a
re
over
pass
es a
cros
s bu
sy in
ters
ectio
ns o
r new
ped
estri
an b
ridge
s to
pro
vide
the
peop
le o
f Ban
gkok
with
a s
afe
way
to c
ross
the
stre
et.
Bang
kok’s
airp
ort a
nd p
orts
are
am
ong
of th
e bu
sies
t in
the
regi
on. T
he n
ew
Suva
rnab
hum
i Airp
ort w
ill fu
rther
pos
ition
Ban
gkok
as
the
regi
on’s
avia
tion
hub.
Discovering the City
52Su
varn
abhu
mi A
irpor
t
Discovering the City
53
Air
port
s
Thai
land
has
dev
elop
ed a
n ex
tens
ive
air t
rans
port
netw
ork
that
enc
ompa
sses
30 c
omm
erci
al a
irpor
ts, m
eani
ng th
at
all T
haila
nd’s
regi
ons
are
abou
t an
hour
’s fl i
ght f
rom
Ban
gkok
.
In a
dditi
on to
Don
Mua
ng A
irpor
t in
Bang
kok,
whi
ch c
urre
ntly
han
dles
in
exce
ss o
f 215
,000
fl ig
hts,
823
,000
tons
of
car
go a
nd m
ore
than
33
mill
ion
pass
enge
rs p
er y
ear,
Thai
land
has
in
tern
atio
nal a
irpor
ts in
Phu
ket,
Chia
ng
Mai
, Hat
Yai
, Chi
ang
Rai a
nd K
o Sa
mui
.
Suva
rnab
hum
i Air
port
The
new
inte
rnat
iona
l Suv
arna
bhum
i Ai
rpor
t was
bes
tow
ed b
y Hi
s M
ajes
ty
the
King
to h
elp
boos
t Tha
iland
econ
omic
, soc
ial,
com
mun
icat
ion
and
tour
ism
dev
elop
men
t. Si
tuat
ed a
bout
25
kilo
met
ers
east
of B
angk
ok, i
t will
re
plac
e Ba
ngko
k’s in
tern
atio
nal
Don
Mua
ng A
irpor
t, an
d w
ill h
ave
a ca
paci
ty to
han
dle
45 m
illion
pas
seng
ers
per y
ear,
incr
easi
ng to
100
mill
ion
pass
enge
rs a
nd 6
.4 m
illio
n m
etric
tons
of
car
go w
hen
the
airp
ort i
s co
mpl
ete.
Tran
spor
tatio
n
An o
verv
iew
of t
he m
ain
stra
tegi
c tra
nspo
rt lin
ks in
Tha
iland
:
ú79
,180
km
of h
ighw
ays
linki
ng a
ll 76
pro
vinc
es.
úTo
ll m
otor
way
s w
ill re
ach
4,15
0 km
by
2016
.ú
Rail
syst
ems
span
4,8
80 k
m, c
onne
ctin
g to
nei
ghbo
ring
coun
tries
.ú
4,00
0 km
of i
nlan
d w
ater
way
s an
d 8
deep
-sea
por
ts s
erve
m
ajor
shi
ppin
g po
ints
, inc
ludi
ng B
angk
ok, L
aem
Cha
bang
, M
apta
phut
, Son
gkhl
a, a
nd P
huke
t.ú
Ther
e ar
e ov
er 3
0 co
mm
erci
al a
irpor
ts n
atio
nwid
e an
d si
x m
ajor
inte
rnat
iona
l airp
orts
, inc
ludi
ng th
ose
in B
angk
ok,
Chia
ngm
ai, C
hian
grai
, Phu
ket,
Hat Y
ai, a
nd U
-Tap
ao.
úBa
ngko
k’s n
ew in
tern
atio
nal S
uvar
nabh
umi A
irpor
t ope
ned
in 2
006.
It is
Asi
a’s
larg
est a
irpor
t han
dlin
g up
to 4
5 m
illio
n pa
ssen
gers
per
ann
um, w
ith th
e po
tent
ial t
o ex
pand
and
ha
ndle
up
to 1
20 m
illio
n pa
ssen
gers
a y
ear.
Discovering the City
54
Ban
gkok
Por
t
Bang
kok
Port
is lo
cate
d on
the
Chao
Ph
raya
Riv
er b
etw
een
km+2
6.5
and
km+2
8.5
in th
e Kl
ongt
oey
dist
rict o
f Ba
ngko
k. It
is c
onne
cted
with
road
an
d ra
il sy
stem
s, w
hich
hel
p in
the
trans
porta
tion
of c
argo
es b
etw
een
the
port
and
the
hint
erla
nd, q
uick
ly a
nd
econ
omic
ally
.
Bang
kok
Port
cove
rs a
bout
3.8
1 sq
.km
., of
whi
ch 1
.39
sq.k
m. a
re in
side
the
cust
oms
fenc
e an
d ar
e ut
ilize
d fo
r op
erat
iona
l pur
pose
s.
Port
s
Laem
Cha
bang
Por
t
Abou
t 130
kilo
met
ers
sout
heas
t of
Bang
kok
is a
ver
y bu
sy d
eep-
sea
port,
La
em C
haba
ng. I
t cov
ers
an a
rea
of 2
,572
acr
es a
nd is
Tha
iland
mai
n de
ep-s
ea p
ort e
xcha
ngin
g go
ods
wor
ldw
ide.
Laem
Cha
bang
Por
t can
als
o ha
ndle
ex
tra la
rge
ship
s (S
uper
Pos
t Pa
nam
ax).
The
Port
Auth
ority
of
Thai
land
is re
spon
sibl
e fo
r the
por
t, w
hile
the
priv
ate
sect
or c
ontra
cts
to
hand
le p
ort o
pera
tions
. The
por
t is
rate
d on
e of
the
wor
ld’s
top
cont
aine
r po
rts b
y su
ch le
adin
g m
agaz
ines
as
Lloy
d’s
List
, etc
. The
por
t’s ra
ting
leap
frogg
ed fr
om a
rank
ing
of 2
3rd
in 1
998
- 199
9 to
20th
and
18th
in 2
002
and
2003
, res
pect
ivel
y.
Discovering the City
55
The
King
dom
of T
haila
nd is
wid
ely
ackn
owle
dged
as
havi
ng th
e m
ost e
xten
sive
ro
ad tr
ansp
orta
tion
netw
ork
cove
ring
mor
e th
an 2
50,0
00 k
m, m
ore
than
40
% o
f whi
ch a
re in
tern
atio
nal s
tand
ard
high
way
s th
at p
rovi
de li
nks
to
ever
y pr
ovin
ce.
Ther
e ar
e m
ore
than
225
km
of i
nter
-city
mot
orw
ays
crea
ting
links
bet
wee
n Ba
ngko
k an
d ot
her m
ajor
regi
ons
of th
e ki
ngdo
m, w
hich
are
con
tinuo
usly
be
ing
enha
nced
by
the
gove
rnm
ent a
nd a
re e
xpec
ted
to in
crea
se to
4,1
50 k
m
of 4
-lane
road
s.
New
hig
hway
s ar
e co
nsta
ntly
bei
ng b
uilt,
incl
udin
g lin
ks fr
om B
angk
ok to
th
e ne
w S
uvar
nabh
umi A
irpor
t, an
d an
am
bitio
us p
roje
ct to
spe
ed tr
ansp
ort
time
to T
haila
nd’s
sout
hern
pro
vinc
es.
Bus
es
Bus
serv
ices
wer
e fi r
st in
trodu
ced
to s
erve
com
mut
ers
in B
angk
ok in
19
07 b
y Ph
raya
Pha
kdi N
oase
t (Le
rt Se
tthab
utr).
Orig
inal
ly, t
rans
port
serv
ice
was
pro
vide
d by
hor
se-d
raw
n ca
rria
ges
and
late
r by
thre
e-w
heel
ed
Ford
mot
orca
rs w
ith tw
o lo
ng p
aral
lel
benc
hes
for s
eatin
g.
Toda
y, op
erat
ing
unde
r the
juris
dict
ion
of th
e M
inis
try o
f Tra
nspo
rt an
d Co
mm
unic
atio
ns, t
he B
angk
ok M
ass
Tran
sit A
utho
rity
(BM
TA) i
s ch
arge
d w
ith p
rovi
ding
bus
ser
vice
to p
eopl
e liv
ing
and
wor
king
in B
angk
ok a
nd th
e ne
arby
pro
vinc
es.
Citie
s an
d pr
ovin
ces
in T
haila
nd a
re
easi
ly re
ache
d by
bus
from
Ban
gkok
. Fo
r des
tinat
ions
in th
e so
uthw
est
and
the
wes
t, bu
ses
leav
e fro
m th
e So
uthe
rn B
us T
erm
inal
, wes
t of t
he
city
. For
des
tinat
ions
in th
e so
uthe
ast,
such
as
Patta
ya a
nd K
o Sa
met
, bus
es
leav
e fro
m th
e Ea
ster
n Bu
s Te
rmin
al a
t Ek
kam
ai, t
he th
ird e
aste
rn-m
ost s
top
on th
e Sk
y Tr
ain.
For
all
dest
inat
ions
no
rth a
nd n
orth
east
, the
Nor
ther
n Bu
s Te
rmin
al a
t Mo
Chit,
whi
ch c
an
be re
ache
d by
bot
h th
e Sk
y Tr
ain
and
Met
ro, i
s th
e pl
ace
to s
tart.
Trai
ns
For t
rave
l by
train
from
Ban
gkok
, mos
t pa
ssen
gers
can
beg
in th
eir j
ourn
ey
at th
e Hu
a La
mph
ong
stat
ion,
a 2
0th
turn
-of-t
he c
entu
ry It
alia
n ar
chite
ctur
e la
ndm
ark,
loca
ted
at th
e so
uthe
rn
end
of th
e Ba
ngko
k su
bway
sys
tem
. He
re, t
rain
s co
nnec
t Ban
gkok
to
Mal
aysi
a to
the
sout
h, C
hian
g M
ai a
nd
beyo
nd to
the
north
, and
Kho
n Ka
en
and
beyo
nd to
the
north
east
. Tha
iland
’s ra
il tra
nspo
rtatio
n, w
hich
dat
es b
ack
mor
e th
an c
entu
ry, i
s ex
tens
ive
and
cove
rs 4
,000
km
on
thre
e lin
es th
at
inte
rsec
t in
Bang
kok.
Road
Net
wor
ks
Discovering the City
56MA
SS T
RA
NSI
T
Bang
kok
has
two
type
s of
mas
s tra
nsit
syst
ems
that
con
nect
with
ea
ch o
ther
: the
BTS
Sky
Tra
in a
nd th
e M
RT s
ubw
ay. I
n 19
99 th
e fi r
st s
yste
m k
now
n as
the
Sky
Trai
n op
ened
on
over
head
trac
ks
that
cov
er 5
5 ki
lom
eter
s, s
ervi
ng 2
3 st
atio
ns o
n tw
o lin
es a
nd
carr
ying
app
roxi
mat
ely
300,
000
pass
enge
rs p
er w
orki
ng d
ay, w
ith
an a
vera
ge p
asse
nger
trip
equ
alin
g a
dist
ance
of 6
.25
kilo
met
ers.
Sky
trai
n
Ther
e ar
e cu
rren
tly tw
o ro
utes
on
the
Sky
Trai
n, th
e Su
khum
vit L
ine
and
the
Silo
m L
ine.
The
y co
ver m
uch
of th
e ce
ntra
l city
and
its
man
y co
mm
erci
al,
resi
dent
ial a
nd to
uris
t are
as, w
ith
exte
nsio
ns p
lann
ed to
out
lyin
g ar
eas.
Th
e tra
ins
run
daily
bet
wee
n 6:
00 a
m
and
12:0
0 m
idni
ght,
with
freq
uent
se
rvic
e th
at in
crea
ses
durin
g ru
sh
hour
s an
d a
fare
that
is b
ased
on
the
dist
ance
trav
eled
.
The
BTS
Sky
Trai
n’s
high
-cap
acity
op
erat
ing
syst
em e
xper
ienc
es a
lmos
t no
bre
akdo
wns
and
has
a n
ear 1
00%
on
-tim
e re
cord
. Eac
h tra
in c
an c
arry
ov
er 1
,000
pas
seng
ers,
a s
imila
r nu
mbe
r tha
t wou
ld re
quire
the
use
of 8
00 c
ars,
mak
ing
the
BTS
Sky
Trai
n on
e of
the
mos
t env
ironm
enta
lly
frien
dly
mas
s tra
nsit
syst
ems
in
Thai
land
.
In th
e pa
st 6
yea
rs th
e BT
S Sk
y Tr
ain
has
oper
ated
one
of t
he s
afes
t and
m
ost p
unct
ual m
ass
trans
it sy
stem
s in
th
e re
gion
. It h
as c
over
ed m
ore
than
10
.5 m
illio
n ki
lom
eter
s an
d se
rvic
ed
over
227
mill
ion
pass
enge
rs.
57
Subw
ay
In J
uly
2004
, a n
ew M
RT s
ubw
ay
syst
em w
as la
unch
ed c
onne
ctin
g th
e no
rther
n tra
in s
tatio
n of
Ban
g Su
e to
th
e Hu
a La
mph
ong
railw
ay s
tatio
n ne
ar th
e ci
ty c
ente
r, w
hile
als
o ru
nnin
g th
roug
h th
e ea
ster
n pa
rt of
the
city
. The
sub
way
als
o co
nnec
ts
with
the
BTS
stat
ions
at M
o Ch
it, A
sok
and
Sala
Dae
ng.
Stre
tchi
ng o
ver 2
0 ki
lom
eter
s ac
ross
m
etro
polit
an B
angk
ok, t
he M
RT
Chal
oem
Rat
chm
ongk
hon
Line
sta
rts
at H
ua L
amph
ong
Railw
ay S
tatio
n an
d te
rmin
ates
at B
ang
Sue
Railw
ay
Stat
ion.
The
18
stat
ions
alo
ng th
e ro
ute
are
at H
ua L
amph
ong,
Sam
Ya
n, S
ilom
, Lum
phin
i, Kh
long
Toe
i, Qu
een
Sirik
it N
atio
nal C
onve
ntio
n Ce
nter
, Suk
hum
vit,
Phet
chab
uri,
Phra
Ra
m 9
, Tha
iland
Cul
tura
l Cen
ter,
Huai
Kh
wan
g, S
utth
isan
, Rat
chad
aphi
sek,
La
t Phr
ao, P
haho
n Yo
thin
, Cha
tuch
ak
Park
, Kam
phae
ng P
het a
nd B
ang
Sue.
