Notorious for its congested streets, Bangkok was ranked the world's second most congested city in 2016, as drivers wasted up to 64 minutes a day stuck in traffic. Experts believe the jams cost the economy US$332 million a year, due to the loss in economic value caused by people stuck in traffic.

To ease the congestion, cities over the world have turned to transportation systems such as metros or subways. One such system is the Bangkok Metropolitan Rapid Transit's Red Line, which Hitachi is working on.

Another technology adopted by Bangkok is a smart traffic monitoring system. By deploying sensors around the city, the system could decrease up to 8,000 accidents a year and save Bangkok an estimated U$1 billion.

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Smart technologies are also known as IoT (Internet of Things) and the Thai government is further deploying them in its manufacturing sector, which accounts for 27% of its GDP. Despite the sector's achievements, experts believe Thailand is falling into the middle-income trap, with persistent low-growth and a middle per-capita income range.

To escape the trap, the government has embarked on Thailand 4.0 by adopting automation, robotics and IoT technologies. The manufacturing sector has played a leading role in adopting IoT to improve its manufacturing efficiency and cut costs by up to 30%.

Estimates revealed that it is possible to automate as much as 68% of processes in this sector. One of the most exciting projects lies in the Eastern Economic Corridor, where Hitachi is setting up Smart Factories in Chonburi province. This smart city project is expected to create 100,000 new jobs.

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Thailand 4.0 initiative is not exclusive to the manufacturing sector. The government aims to grow the digital economy to contribute to 25% to its GDP by 2027.

Ambitious goals have been set. For one, Thailand aims to be in the top 40 of the International Telecommunication Union's ICT Development Index by 2026. In 2016, the country was ranked 82 out of 175.

Multiple projects associated with the digital economy have also been rolled out, such the Smart City pilot in Phuket, Thailand's first-ever national e-payment system and the Digital Park in Sriracha.

One of the aims of the Digital Park is to attract foreign investment in data centres, R&D facilities and new digital businesses, with the goal of promoting Thailand as a digital infrastructure hub.

To help achieve this vision, Hitachi has committed to build a cutting edge IoT centre in the Eastern Economic Corridor. Coupled with big data analytics and AI, the IoT centre can help with various issues, such as managing human traffic flow in dense areas, a crucial aspect in urban planning and smart cities.

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