Recently, the Urban Development Coordination Division of the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) organized a seminar on Guidelines for Urban Development Action Plan under the Eighth and Ninth Plan at the Siam City Hotel, Bangkok.
Mr. Thamarak karnposti, Chief Executive Planning Advisor of NESDB, presided over the seminar and delivered an opening address, saying that at present 37 percent of the Thai population are living in urban areas. Within 10 years larger number of population will be increasingly migrate from rural to urban area. This situation will happen only once in every country. If this situation properly takes place, Thailand will be fully developed through promoting local potential in creating sustainable development system.
Regional urban development action plan guidelines are the preparation scheme to create system for urban prosperity decentralization with two important objectives. First, local development in finance and management will be improved. Regional urban community will have an opportunity to get fund and credit. Second, local administrative offices can manage their own projects and make relevent decision.
Dr. Utis Kaothien, Assistant Secretary-General of NESDB, presented the overall picture of the plan by saying that the project's basic idea is in harmony with the Eighth Plan development guideline. The project does not belong to the central government or indivivual organization, it involved several organizations concerned. Local potential is also supported as the base for decentralization development.
However, decentralization and local potential development can be considered as national evolution. Each country has to learn from its own experience. Regarding Thailand, proper decentralization and local potential development guidelines will be sought to fit the needs of people and Thai culture.
Furthermore, the Eighth Plan aims at in creasing local and private sector role. The important policies include : development of economic competitiveness by strengthening urban community's role and economic base to promote Thailand as the international economic base. The economic base is not only be developed in the BMR, it should be developed in every region nationwide.
Assistant Secretary-General also added that decentralization and local potential development requires participation of every sector concerned. Certainly, there must be problems and limitation so it is the time to start to learn about the operational process because it may be too late to wait for results of any feasibility studies or the local potential strengthening package.
Three phases of regional urban development are as follows:
The first phase emphasizes measures to establish mechanism to provide local organizations with access to investment credits. Basically, Thai municipalities rely mainly on their own revenue when launching investment projects, while the rest of the world relies on loans. Urban infrastructure development in other countries, therefore, are more efficient and timely for urban growth and administration. In Thailand, the 8th and 9th Plans for urban development will establish credit mechanism, structure and process to provide funding for local development. Private sector participation will be encouraged in the move too.
The credit access provision will be implemented in the second phase in 8 major urban centers in the regions. For effective implementation, cooperation between central agencies and local municipalities should be urged, including other local units, such as Sanitary Districts, Tambon Administrative Organizations, and so on. This is because urban development is moving beyond the municipal boundary. Participation of all parties concerned will lead to satisfactory results at the end.
The third phase will be focused on strengthening of local organizations. They should adopt the learning by doing approach, and central agencies should provide technical assistance for local organizations, especially in the areas of planning, investment strategies, financial management, evaluations and monitoring. To achieve this mission, the Ministry of Interior will play a key role, in cooperation with relevant central agencies.
--Development News Bulletin, National Economic and Social Development Board, Volume 12, No.7: July 1997--
Mr. Thamarak karnposti, Chief Executive Planning Advisor of NESDB, presided over the seminar and delivered an opening address, saying that at present 37 percent of the Thai population are living in urban areas. Within 10 years larger number of population will be increasingly migrate from rural to urban area. This situation will happen only once in every country. If this situation properly takes place, Thailand will be fully developed through promoting local potential in creating sustainable development system.
Regional urban development action plan guidelines are the preparation scheme to create system for urban prosperity decentralization with two important objectives. First, local development in finance and management will be improved. Regional urban community will have an opportunity to get fund and credit. Second, local administrative offices can manage their own projects and make relevent decision.
Dr. Utis Kaothien, Assistant Secretary-General of NESDB, presented the overall picture of the plan by saying that the project's basic idea is in harmony with the Eighth Plan development guideline. The project does not belong to the central government or indivivual organization, it involved several organizations concerned. Local potential is also supported as the base for decentralization development.
However, decentralization and local potential development can be considered as national evolution. Each country has to learn from its own experience. Regarding Thailand, proper decentralization and local potential development guidelines will be sought to fit the needs of people and Thai culture.
Furthermore, the Eighth Plan aims at in creasing local and private sector role. The important policies include : development of economic competitiveness by strengthening urban community's role and economic base to promote Thailand as the international economic base. The economic base is not only be developed in the BMR, it should be developed in every region nationwide.
Assistant Secretary-General also added that decentralization and local potential development requires participation of every sector concerned. Certainly, there must be problems and limitation so it is the time to start to learn about the operational process because it may be too late to wait for results of any feasibility studies or the local potential strengthening package.
Three phases of regional urban development are as follows:
The first phase emphasizes measures to establish mechanism to provide local organizations with access to investment credits. Basically, Thai municipalities rely mainly on their own revenue when launching investment projects, while the rest of the world relies on loans. Urban infrastructure development in other countries, therefore, are more efficient and timely for urban growth and administration. In Thailand, the 8th and 9th Plans for urban development will establish credit mechanism, structure and process to provide funding for local development. Private sector participation will be encouraged in the move too.
The credit access provision will be implemented in the second phase in 8 major urban centers in the regions. For effective implementation, cooperation between central agencies and local municipalities should be urged, including other local units, such as Sanitary Districts, Tambon Administrative Organizations, and so on. This is because urban development is moving beyond the municipal boundary. Participation of all parties concerned will lead to satisfactory results at the end.
The third phase will be focused on strengthening of local organizations. They should adopt the learning by doing approach, and central agencies should provide technical assistance for local organizations, especially in the areas of planning, investment strategies, financial management, evaluations and monitoring. To achieve this mission, the Ministry of Interior will play a key role, in cooperation with relevant central agencies.
--Development News Bulletin, National Economic and Social Development Board, Volume 12, No.7: July 1997--