Thailand Pushes Nakhon Sawan Biocomplex as ASEAN Hub
Thailand is positioning the Nakhon Sawan Biocomplex as a regional bioeconomy leader, converting sugarcane into high-value products like bioplastic PLA to boost agricultural value and support its green economic model.
Industry Minister Warawut Silpaarchai and senior executives toured the Nakhon Sawan Biocomplex in Takli District, Nakhon Sawan Province—a model for Thailand's bioeconomy development that converts agricultural crops, especially sugarcane, into high-value products such as bioplastic PLA, which is in global demand.
The project is central to advancing the government's bioeconomy agenda, boosting agricultural product value, generating local income and employment, while promoting environmentally friendly industrial development in line with Thailand's BCG economic model. The Nakhon Sawan Biocomplex is managed by GCC-KTIS Bioindustrial Company Limited, a joint venture between Global Green Chemical Public Company Limited (GGC) and Thai Agricultural International Sugar Corporation Public Company Limited (KTIS), comprising two main components:
1. Primary bioprocess industries including a sugarcane mill processing 24,000 tons daily, an ethanol plant producing 600,000 liters per day, and a biomass power plant with 85-megawatt combined capacity.
2. Value-added industries converting agricultural output, including a bioplastic manufacturing facility operated by NatureWorks producing PLA (Polylactic Acid) from 100-percent sugarcane-derived sugar at 75,000 tons annually—the world's second fully integrated bioplastic facility after one in Blair, Nebraska, which uses corn as its primary feedstock.
The ministry plans to work with relevant agencies to increase bioplastic adoption domestically, address environmental concerns and greenhouse gas emissions, elevate Thailand's sugarcane and sugar value, strengthen the biotech sector, and position Thailand as Southeast Asia's bioeconomy hub.
