PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP IN KHON KAEN URBAN DEVELOPMENT AS A SMART CITY: A CASE STUDY OF LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT (LRT) CONSTRUCTION PROJECT

Abstract

There four objectives in this study: 1) to examine the emergence and the ways in which the state and private sectors collaborated on the urban development project of Khon Kaen, 2) to analyze the roles and collaborative practices of the state and private sectors in the urban development of Khon Kaen, 3) to analyze the strength, limitations, problems and obstacles of the urban development in the form of state-private sector collaboration, and 4) to propose the policy recommendation to the government. This research was qualitative and its method included interviews related people: public sector (provincial part, private sector and five Local governments), observation and related documents were collected as tools for data collection.

The research found that 1) the collaborative project was originated from the awareness of the urban problems which resulted from the fast-paced development of the City of Khon Kaen. The local administration, private sector, and the civil society had the ideas of to transform Khon Kaen into a smart city. The development of public transport was the first step of the project. 2) Due to the budget of the local administration was still limited for the construction. As a result, Khon Kean City Development (KKTT) Co., LTD as a private sector took part in the project. At the initial stage, it provided the financial support to the construction. The project of Khon Kaen Transit System (KKTS), therefore, was originated from the bottom-up sphere as it was the collaboration among five local governments in Khon Kaen as a private company. 3) Obstacles arose at times due to the insufficient decentralization of the Thai state. 4) Urban Development project, particularly in provincial areas, should have collaboration form the central government and provincial part.