Last Updated on September 25, 2026 by Jeff Tomas
Which Thai cities and regions have active or officially recognized smart city projects? They’re spread across the country, not limited to Bangkok, but a project’s presence doesn’t automatically mean its area has formal smart city certification.
The distinction matters: depa-certified areas, promotion zones, and broader digital development projects have different official statuses. This guide maps notable locations and examples, including Chiang Rai’s plastic-to-fuel smart city project, and explains what each designation means.
First, it helps to separate certified smart cities from the wider group of planned and active projects.
Key Takeaways
- Thailand’s smart city program includes 37 recognized smart city areas, while reported province counts vary by source and counting method.
- A city with official smart city recognition differs from a promotion zone or pilot. depa’s criteria explain the requirements for smart city development.
- Projects span multiple regions, with work in cities such as Bangkok, Chiang Rai, Phuket, Khon Kaen, and Nakhon Ratchasima.
- Local priorities vary. For example, Chiang Rai’s plastic-to-fuel project connects waste management with energy production.
- Newer efforts also focus on data platforms, digital twins, open data, and technology-enabled public services.
Smart City Projects Across Thailand: Where They Are Today
Thailand’s smart city program is a national framework, but projects take different forms across the country. The Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA) assesses city plans across seven dimensions, while local governments and development zones may still be building projects or seeking formal recognition.
DEPA’s seven smart city dimensions
The framework covers everyday urban needs, not just technology. A city can prioritize different dimensions based on its challenges and plans:
- Environment covers air and water quality, waste, climate risks, and natural resource management.
- Mobility focuses on public transportation, traffic, road safety, and access around the city.
- Living includes public health, safety, housing, and services that support residents’ quality of life.
- People concerns digital skills, education, participation, and access to information.
- Energy addresses efficient energy use, renewable power, and energy management.
- Economy supports business activity, jobs, tourism, and digital commerce.
- Governance involves public services, transparent decision-making, and the responsible use of city data.
In practice, these goals can overlap. Chiang Rai’s disaster warning and monitoring plans connect environmental management with public safety and local governance. A Smart City Data Platform report offers an example of how the dimensions are applied in a specific development area.
Formal recognition and project status
A certified smart city or area has received formal recognition through DEPA’s framework. A promotion zone, pilot, or municipal technology project may be active without holding the same designation. That distinction matters when comparing locations: a project announcement alone doesn’t confirm that an entire city is certified.
Recent DEPA-related tracking reports cite 37 certified cities, while the live Smart City Data Platform may list agencies or areas using a different counting method. Because designations and project records change, check the platform for the latest status rather than treating one published figure as a permanent total. Coverage of DEPA’s reported 37-city count also describes the agency’s expansion target.
The regional sections that follow look at projects in Bangkok and central Thailand, the north, the northeast, and the south. Each location has its own mix of formal recognition, planned work, and services already in use.
Bangkok and the Eastern Corridor pair digital services with industry
Bangkok and the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) show how smart city plans can address both daily urban needs and economic development. The EEC includes Chachoengsao, Chonburi, and Rayong, but projects in those provinces do not all share the same designation or certification status.
Samyan brings smart city services into Bangkok
In central Bangkok, Samyan Smart City is a university-led project operated by Chulalongkorn University. DEPA recognized it as a smart city promotion zone in 2020 under the “Livable City” type. Its plan connects urban infrastructure and innovation with residents’ quality of life. The official Samyan Smart City summary outlines the project’s approach.
The district offers a useful contrast with industrial development in the east. In Bangkok, the focus is on applying smart city planning within an established urban neighborhood, where services and infrastructure need to work for residents, students, businesses, and visitors.
Rayong links livability with industrial growth
Rayong’s smart and livable city initiative received approval as one of 15 additional smart cities in 14 provinces in 2022. The designation gives the city a recognized place in Thailand’s smart city program, while the province’s wider economic role centers on manufacturing and investment.
That mix matters: urban services such as mobility, public safety, and environmental management affect the people who live and work near major industrial areas. However, Rayong’s initiative should be described on its own terms, rather than treated as proof that every city or site across the EEC holds the same status.
Wangchan Valley connects innovation and city planning
Also in Rayong, Wangchan Valley is a smart city promotion zone developed as an innovation and research hub. Its plan spans seven smart city dimensions, including governance, mobility, energy, economy, living, people, and the environment. The project brings planned urban systems together with research and technology development, linking the EEC’s industrial ambitions to a purpose-built district.
The corridor’s smart city story is therefore a mix of distinct projects, not one uniform regional certification. For broader context on Thailand’s digital growth and smart city development, these examples show how public services, innovation, and industry meet in different ways across the country.
Northern and Northeastern cities focus on livability and local needs
Smart city projects in northern and northeastern Thailand address local priorities rather than following one template. Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen have active projects with named institutions and initiatives, while Chiang Rai, Nan, and Phitsanulok entered the national program’s second expansion phase. Their progress ranges from pilot work to broader city plans, so official inclusion doesn’t always mean the same level of implementation.
Northern cities build around practical services
Chiang Mai was one of Thailand’s early smart city pilot provinces. Today, its work includes the National Innovation Agency’s Chiang Mai City Lab, an urban testbed that trialed 24 innovations between 2021 and 2023. Projects have also explored smart hospital technology and elderly care. Together, these efforts connect innovation with everyday needs, especially health services for an aging population.
Chiang Rai, Nan, and Phitsanulok were included in the government’s second-phase expansion. The projects differ in how much detail is publicly documented, so it’s useful to distinguish national inclusion from a fully specified, citywide program. Chiang Rai’s “City to Smart City” direction can be understood through practical services such as environmental monitoring, safer water, and waste recovery. Its plastic-to-fuel project links waste management with energy production, while Nan City to Smart City and Phitsanulok’s smart city projects reflect the wider effort to tailor public services and urban planning to local conditions.
Khon Kaen and Korat connect mobility with local growth
Khon Kaen is a leading northeastern example, with a smart city plan focused on creating a livable metropolis and supporting the regional economy. Mobility is a central concern, alongside environmental monitoring and local services. Current projects include PM2.5 monitoring and a digitized food supply chain. Khon Kaen University’s smart city project platform tracks initiatives and partnerships that extend this work beyond a single technology project.
In Nakhon Ratchasima, Korat Smart City focuses on quality of life, the environment, and the local economy. Its pilot area covers about 37.5 square kilometers within the municipality, with AI-supported planning under the “Korat Model.” The project builds on work that has been underway since 2021, although its pilot scope should not be confused with citywide rollout.
Across these cities, local needs shape the work: better public services and mobility in some places, greener communities and stronger local economies in others. That variety is central to understanding where Thailand’s smart city projects stand today.
Southern and coastal projects use technology to serve residents and visitors
Southern Thailand’s smart city work often sits where tourism, public services, and environmental pressures meet. Phuket has the longest-running profile, while Krabi and several other coastal cities and provinces joined a national expansion wave. Their designations show official recognition, but they don’t mean every neighborhood has connected infrastructure or live digital services.
Phuket combines an early pilot with newer development
Phuket was an early smart city pilot, with plans for smart tourism, transport, and digital infrastructure. A study of Phuket’s smart tourism development describes the province’s focus on areas such as maritime services, medical tourism, and meetings and events.
More recently, Phuket Silicon Valley received a smart city symbol, adding a newer technology-focused development to the island’s broader smart city work. The label applies to a named project, not every part of Phuket. In practice, local priorities include helping visitors find services, managing congestion, improving emergency response, and protecting beaches and other natural areas.
Safety technology is one example of a possible service. Thailand’s tourism police have deployed AI surveillance cameras in tourist areas, including Phuket. That system may support police operations, but it does not prove that an entire province is certified or smart-enabled.
Krabi and other southern locations have varied project detail
Krabi’s smart city work has advanced through planning and pilots in Mueang Krabi and Ko Lanta. DEPA has described Smart Environment and Smart Living as priorities, linking tourism safety with environmental care. These goals can translate into better local monitoring, public information, and access to services, though implementation varies by area.
In 2022, official smart city announcements also named Phang Nga, Satun, Koh Samui, Hat Yai, Pattani, and Narathiwat. The project names point to different local ambitions, including a sustainable municipality in Koh Samui, a green city plan in Hat Yai, and a creative environment initiative in Narathiwat. However, publicly available detail on deployed systems is thinner than it is for Phuket and Krabi.
For residents and visitors, the practical test is whether technology improves daily access: clearer transport information, timely safety alerts, easier access to public services, or better management of waste and coastal resources. A designation establishes a plan or recognized status; it doesn’t guarantee those services operate across the whole province.
Frequently Asked Questions
Thailand’s smart city projects vary in scale, maturity, and public visibility. These answers help clarify what the labels and project updates mean in practice.
What changes might residents notice first?
Residents may see practical services before major infrastructure changes, such as online reporting tools, improved traffic signals, or environmental monitoring. For example, Bangkok’s AI-powered traffic signal project focuses on adjusting traffic lights using traffic data. The benefits depend on where a service operates and whether local agencies maintain it.
How can I tell whether a project is active?
Look for evidence beyond a project announcement, such as a working public dashboard, recent data updates, or an operating service. For water management, Chiang Rai’s science-based water quality initiative offers a concrete example of technology applied to a local need. A city listing or recognition alone doesn’t confirm that every planned service is running.
Are smart city data platforms shared across Thailand?
Some cities use depa’s City Data Platform framework to organize and exchange information, but that doesn’t mean every local system shares the same datasets or connects automatically. The platform is designed to support data exchange among public agencies, businesses, and residents. In practice, each city still needs compatible systems and clear rules for access.
How do smart city projects address privacy?
A city data platform should set rules for who can access information, how agencies share it, and how they protect personal data. Those safeguards matter when systems handle location, health, or other sensitive details. The OECD’s guidance on smart city data governance explains why governance is part of responsible city data use.
Does a smart city designation mean every neighborhood is covered?
No. A project may serve one district, pilot area, or specific service, while other parts of the city remain outside its scope. Check the stated boundary and service coverage before assuming that a citywide label applies to all residents.
How should I compare progress between cities?
Compare evidence of services in operation, their coverage, and the public data available, rather than comparing labels alone. A city with a focused pilot may show clearer results than a larger plan still in development. Check for recent updates from depa and the city itself, since project status can change.
