The move is part of its efforts to broaden the profile
of the local CEI industry, which is currently
concentrated in Bangkok.
The facility, to be known as the Chiang Mai
National Convention and Exhibition Centre, will
have a capacity to host conferences for as many
as 3,000 delegates. It will be built close to the centre of the city. Construction is to be completed by the end of 2007.
The government has announced plans for similar
convention centres in other regional hubs including Phuket in the south and Udon Thani in the northeast to distribute more CEI-related income
to the provinces.
It has promised to accelerate the construction of
infrastructure in these major provinces and hold
more official events in these areas as part of the
decentralisation drive.
It has already ordered the national carrier THAI
to increase the number of direct flights from Chiang
Mai to other countries, avoiding the need for visitors to transit through Bangkok.
Chiang Mai convention centre gets governmental go-ahead
BANGKOK The Thai government has given the green light to a US$35 million convention centre in the northern city of Chiang Mai.