Thailand’s Smart Country project is making headway as Phuket Province (population, 600,00) launched its THB 95 million (US$2.9 million) Smart Province project, shared Permanent Secretary of Thailand’s Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT), Surachai Srisarakham.

The Smart Province project in Phuket, scheduled to be completed in 2015, will bring one-stop service centres where residents can access information and use digital services with a swipe of an ID card. The Smart Country project will link local government offices, police stations and private enterprises with a single network which will be used to share and access information in a secured manner, explained Srisarakham.

Among the benefits he highlighted that residents will be able to access public services online, faster and more efficiently. Government agencies will be moved towards paperless offices to create a more efficient workplace. Provinces can save up to THB 4 billion (US$123 million) as they move towards electronic voting for elections.

Srisarakham revealed plans for free public WiFi in Phuket which will allow residents to access public records when connected to the network, and will also support the booming tourism industry in Phuket. Emphasis is also placed on use of IT in enabling rural areas to access education of comparable quality to that available to students in urban areas like Bangkok.