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Published on March 5, 2008

Phuket will not only be a paradise of tourism in the Asia-Pacific, it will also be a digital paradise. The project called the World Paradise of ICT R&D and Innovation is inviting global technology companies to set up innovation and research and development centres on the island in the next several years.

Rungruang Limchoopatipa, president of Software Industry Promotion Agency (SIPA) said the agency will work with the municipality, TOT, CAT Telecom and the private sector to develop Phuket as a paradise destination for multinational companies and create a software industry in the province. This would also give local software developers better access to the latest technology.

He said the agency will develop an area of about 4,000 rai at the foothills of the mountains surrounding Phuket to set up an information and communications technology park.

The park will feature an innovation centre especially designed to help software developers work in a serene environment.

The digital paradise project plans to attract about 20 software companies within six years. The agency expects to create a software industry in Phuket that would be worth about Bt40 billion by 2010.

"The World Paradise of ICT R&D and Innovation will be a flagship programme, attracting investments from multinational companies to develop software for Thailand and the global market," Rungruang said.

He said the paradise would provide incentives to foreign software firms such as an eight-year corporate tax holiday, business leads through SIPA and help with visas and work permits.

SIPA is working with TOT, CAT Telecom and the Information and Communication Technology Mini-stry to set up an ICT skill development and learning centre for students.

Somjai Suwansuphana, mayor of Phuket City Municipality, said the ICT centre would aim to enhance multimedia and animation skills among students and help them innovate.

The centre opened last year and provides library and Internet services to residents of Phuket.

SIPA also plans to set up three more ICT centres - Thailand Digital Content Centre in Bangkok, Global Outsourcing Centre in Chiang Mai and National Incubation Centre in Khonkhen.

Thailand Digital Content Centre will help software developers and businesses create digital multimedia and animation content for the domestic and global market.

The Global Outsourcing Centre and National Incubation Centre will help increase productivity and boost the ICT industry in the country, as well as make Thai software globally competitive. SIPA is also developing a master plan to create the necessary infrastructure to support the software and ICT industries.

With these steps, the agency estimates the Thai software industry

 will be worth about Bt100 billion by 2010.

Jirapan Boonnoon

The Nation