CHAPTER 4 KHON KAEN CITY CONTEXT AND KHON KAEN CITY
4.1 General Information about Khon Kaen Province
Khon Kaen Province is located in the central part of the Northeast region, approximately 445 kilometers from Bangkok. It occupies an area of 10,885.99 square kilometers or approximately 6.8 million Rais of land, with a total population of (as of 2019) 1,802,872 (National Bureau of Statistics, 2020). As for the administrative areas, it incluses 26 districts, 198 subdistricts, 2,331 villages, and 389 communities. With regard to local administrative authorities, they include 1 provincial administrative organization, 1 city municipality, 6 town municipalities, 78 subdistrict municipalities, and 139 subdistrict administrative organizations. In addition, Khon Kaen Province has a total of 33 regional public agencies, and 227 central public agencies and state enterprises (Khon Kaen Province, 2017). The current Khon Kaen Governor is Mr.
Somsak Jangtrakul.
Figure 4.1 Khon Kaen Province
Source: Khon Kaen Governor’s Office, 2017.
The territories of Khon Kaen Province are adjacent to several provinces in the Northeast. This is regarded as one of the more outstanding provinces in the central part of the Northeast, as it serves as a junction for the North, the upper Northeast, and the lower Northeast. Details are as described below.
The northern part is adjacent to Udon Thani, Loei, and Nong Bua Lamphu Provinces.
The southern part is adjacent to Nakhon Ratchasima, and Buriram Provinces.
The eastern part is adjacent to Kalasin and Maha Sarakham Provinces.
The western part is adjacent to Chaiyaphum and Phetchabun Provinces.
As for the overview of Khon Kaen Province, there were a total population in the third highest population in the Northeast, after Nakhon Ratchasima and Ubon Ratchathani Provinces, respectively. The population density (in 2016) was 165.51 persons per square kilometer (National Statistical Office, 2019), having the fifth
highest density, after Maha Sarakham Province (182.08 persons per square kilometer), Nong Khai Province (171.93 persons per square kilometer), Surin Province (171.78 persons per square kilometer), and Sisaket Province (166.33 persons per square kilometer), respectively. Nevertheless, GDP of Khon Kaen Province in 2015 ranked first among provinces in the Northeast, amounting to 211,192 million baht (Office of the National Econimic and Social Development Council, 2020), and ranked 17th in the country, of which non-agricultural income amounted to 166.649 million baht, and agricultural income amounted to 20,622 million baht. Moreover, Per Capita GDP of Khon Kaen Province in 2015 ranked first among provinces in the Northeast, and ranked 30th in the country, amounting to 107,607 baht (Khon Kaen Province, 2017, p. 4).
Due to the rapid growth of Khon Kaen Province, it came up with an idea of Khon Kaen development based on 5 key strategies, as follows: 1) Promotion of economic development with the aim of increasing competitiveness and reaping opportunities from countries in Greater Mekong Subregion; 2) Development of people and social quality; 3) Management of natural resources and environment for sustainable development; 4) Reinforcement of stability and life & property security;
and 5) Enhancement and development of capabilities in serving as a Smart city and as a Meeting, Incentive Travel, Convention, Exhibitions: MICE City. (Khon Kaen Province, 2017) Nonetheless, the idea of urban development did not recently emerge, it had been urged over a long period. However, past ideas might not be so obvious, compared to those at present.
In the past, the regional development idea of encouraging Khon Kaen Province to become a growth pole was part of the rural development idea proposed by the government, especially the industrial development plan in rural areas in the Northeast (Committee for Development of the Northeast; Louis Berger, Biwater, Inc., as cited in Glassman & Sneddon, 2003). Moreover, Khon Kaen was designated as the center of the Northeast since the governing period of Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat, so a large number of public authorities have been established (“Khon Kaen Smart City Project (1st Phase): Construction of LRT,” 2018). Thus, Khon Kaen Province has been overseen and included in the development plan of the government since 1960s. It has been considered an appropriate area for industrial development in order to help
prevent the migration of people from rural areas in the Northeast to Bangkok, and encourage them to remain in Khon Kaen Province (Glassman & Sneddon, 2003).
At present, Khon Kaen does not only have more industrial development than other nearby provinces, it is also a part of “Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Corridors” which is a project for building economic cooperation within Greater Mekong Subregion: GMS comprising 6 member countries, namely, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and China (Yunnan Province). The objective of this cooperation is to raise competitiveness and global economic opportunities through promoting economic growth in several aspects, including trade, investment, and service, aiming to stimulate employment, improve livelihood of populations, and promote mutual technological and educational cooperation, as well as sharing natural resources efficiently (Pat Niyomsilp, n.d.).
There are 3 areas involving in economic development within Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Corridors, as follows: 1) East-West Economic Corridor: EWEC;
2) North-South Economic Corridor: NSEC; and 3) Southern Economic Corridor: SEC (Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council, 2011). The area relevant to Khon Kaen is 1) East-West Economic Corridor: EWEC (R9), which provides connects between Myanmar – Thailand – Laos – Vietnam, with a total distance of about 1,450 kilometers, and connects some cities within each country as follows: Myanmar: Mawlamyine-Myawaddy, Thailand: Mae Sot-Phitsanulok-Khon Kaen-Kalasin-Mukdahan, Laos: Savannakhet, and Vietnam: Dong Ha-Da Nang. The objective is to establish a network of markets in GMS countries to act as a business development center, facilitate transportation, reduce cost, and shorten transportation periods (Pat Niyomsilp, n.d.).
Figure 4.2 GMS East-West Economic Corridor Source: Termdham Sittilert, 2015.
Apart from being a part of the Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Corridors, Khon Kaen is also the selected location for construction of a “Dry Port”.
Regarding this matter, KKTT (Khonkaen Think Tank) proposed an area in Muang Wan Subdistrict, Nam Phong District, to be the location of the Dry Port to serve as an Inland Container Depot: ICD, with plans to be implemented in the form of a public- private partnership project or PPP. The construction of the Dry Port in Khon Kaen was proposed because Khon Kaen is a province adjacent to Udon Thani and Nong Khai Province, making it convenient to travel to Laos, and further to Vietnam and China (Esanbiz Community News, 2018).
Although the Dry Port project is not located in Mueang Khon Kaen District, it is in the district adjacent to Mueang Khon Kaen District (in the northern part).
Therefore, it is unavoidable to face economic growth and urban extension in line with the area’s development for economic purposes. This might intensify existing problems in Khon Kaen city. Moreover, to serve as an economic hub, it needs to have convenient and extensive mass transit systems for transportation.
From the aforementioned data, it was found that Khon Kaen has economic potential, rapid growth, with a high degree of urbanization in the same way as other high-growth provinces. In addition, it is also involved in the Greater Mekong
Subregion and other large projects, so it is unavoidable to experience future urban growth. However, Khon Kaen is encountering several problems similarly to other growing provinces, including traffic congestion, waste management, overcrowding, and other problems, all of which are rather intense in Khon Kaen city, as hereinafter described.