The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) has seen land sales and leases decrease by 66.1% in the first six months of fiscal 2021, attributed to the impact of Covid-19, though investment value is still on the rise.
From October 2020 to March 2021, investment value increased to 106 billion baht, a 288% increase year-on-year.
The increase is the result of commercial operations of investors in industrial estates over the past 1-2 years, said IEAT governor Somchint Pilouk.
This reflects planned investments gaining momentum despite the sluggish economy, said Ms Somchint.
"But during the pandemic, some businesspeople who faced international travel restrictions delayed their investment plans," she said.
Measures against Covid-19 have also caused an impact on industrial estates, decreasing IEAT's land sales and leases from 1,398.84 to 473.5 rai, which covers 394.42 rai in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) and 79.33 rai outside the EEC.
Employment within industrial estates also decreased by 42% year-on-year to 4,655 workers because many factories are using technology for manufacturing processes during the pandemic.
IEAT owns 14 out of 62 industrial estates in 16 provinces. It cooperates with the private sector for the remainder of the estates. There are 5,080 factories in all industrial estates with 548,682 workers. The automotive and transport industries recorded the highest investment in industrial estates.