Working for human life: Thailand builds its 1st green government city

MANILA, Philippines — While the rest of us could only imagine it, Thailand is already building its first green government city at Government Complex Bangkok.

The truth is that Dhanarak Asset Development Co. Ltd. (DAD), the state-owned enterprise under Thailand’s Ministry of Finance that is responsible for managing the country’s Government Complex, has already announced the successful transformation of the site into a pioneering green and walkable urban prototype, positioning it as a model for sustainable government-led city development.

The multi-year redevelopment program, which is being built under the leadership of Dr. Nalikatibhag Sangsnit, president of DAD, reimagines state-owned land, one that treats public land not as a bureaucratic perimeter, but as shared civic infrastructure that prioritizes people, health, and nature.

"For decades, government districts in Thailand were designed to manage paperwork, not people. We wanted to reverse that logic. A city, especially a city owned by the state, must first work for human life: how people walk, how they rest, how they breathe, and how they coexist with nature in their daily routines," Dr. Nalikatibhag said.

From bureaucratic gray to green living

The centerpiece of the green redevelopment of Thailand’s Government Complex is the newly opened 5.1-rai landscaped connector between Buildings B and C. It is a site that once functioned primarily as a traffic corridor and noise buffer. The area has been transformed into a pedestrian-friendly green passage linking offices, transit access points and communal spaces within the Government Complex.

It has been designed to be an urban infrastructure, so it has a climate buffer that reduces heat, improves water absorption, and supports daily movement across the site. It also opens previously restricted government land to wider public use, thus blurring the boundary between administrative space and the city around it.

The initiative aligns with Thailand's broader sustainability frameworks, which includes environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles and the government's bio-circular-green (BCG) economic model. Design features focus on expanding tree canopy, increasing permeable surfaces, and creating flexible areas that can support exercise, informal gatherings and community activity.

Template for future urban development

Over the past six years, DAD has increased green spaces within the Government Complex by more than 47 rai. When combined with adjacent landscaped zones, the total reaches over 138 rai, making it one of northern Bangkok's largest continuous public green areas.

Dr. Nalikatibhag describes the City of Green Lifestyles concept not as a one-off redevelopment, but as a template for future public-sector land use, particularly in rapidly urbanizing Asian cities where governments remain among the largest landowners.

"This is about proving that sustainability is not an added cost or a branding exercise," he said. "When green infrastructure is designed as part of the system, when it improves health, reduces stress, lowers energy demand and invites public use, it becomes economically rational and socially inevitable. The role of the state is not only to regulate cities, but to set an example of how cities should be lived in."

DAD's sustainability efforts have earned international acclaim. In 2025, the company became the only public-sector organization to win the Asia-level International Innovation Awards for two consecutive years. The award gave recognition to Thailand’s Government Complex Smart City initiative and the GCC Super Application, a digital platform integrating transport, navigation, and public services within the complex.

For two straight years, Thailand’s DAD was selected from more than 160 entries across 30 countries, thus underscoring Thailand's growing leadership in sustainable and technology-driven public sector transformation.

Redefining role of state in city building

Unlike large-scale urban mega projects, the Government Complex Bangkok initiative relies on system-based, incremental transformation, choosing to repurpose existing assets instead of acquiring new land. Urban policy analysts note that this approach provides a scalable blueprint for other governments managing extensive real estate portfolios.

"A government city should not feel separate from everyday life," Dr. Nalikatibhag said. "If public space eases the intensity of daily life, improves health and restores a sense of balance between people and nature, then governance itself becomes more humane."

With its recent unveiling of its first green government city, Thailand is well on its way to becoming the fresh and healthy green community that many countries in the world aspire to achieve. May it resonate not just throughout Thailand but in the whole of Asia and, hopefully, the rest of the world in due time.

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