In 2008, Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT), which is
responsible for the industrial estate development in Thailand,
conducted a feasibility study of a plan to extend the production
base of petrochemical, energy and other heavy industries to southern
Thailand. With the aim of pursuing sustainable development goals,
IEAT carried out the SEA of Southern Seaboard Development Plan
parallel with the planning process. The study focused on development
strategies and the participation of relevant stakeholders in the
planning process. Several analytical tools such as SWOT analysis, GIS
and Potential Surface Analysis were used together with the feedback
from consultation process. The site selection was finalized by applying
weighting and scoring methods. The alternative of no action was not
included due to the study's objective to select the potential location
for the industrial estate and port. Various alternative locations were
analyzed and proposed during the participation process. The systematic stakeholder analysis was conducted and recorded. Twelve
groups of stakeholders were identified and appropriate planning for a
series of public participation events was done. This included a
management meeting, a consultation meeting, and seminar, which
would comprise a total of 1660 attendees. Despite the intensive
process of data analysis and public participation, a major concern on
quality of data, especially of environmental data, and the coverage of
participation process have been raised (interview, Feb 2009). Further,
there was no integration to other planning processes except to the
strategic environmental management plan itself. As the line agency,
Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand will use the SEA report to
support the decision on site selection of the industrial estate in the
studied area, which is one part of the government policy framework of
Southern Seaboard Development. (interview, Feb 2009).