Mr Chanond says its partner's Japanese smart city project can be used as a model.

SET-listed Ananda Development Plc has floated the idea of a smart city in Bangkok's metropolitan area. It would be a city full of innovations and technologies to fit in with the lifestyle of Thailand 4.0.

The city would be designed to accommodate residences, malls and medical, financial and educational services, with its own renewable power-generating system to secure the power supply as well as preserve the environment, said chief executive Chanond Ruangkritya.

The plan is one of Ananda's major longer-term projects aimed at creating a higher standard of living in the city through innovations, Mr Chanond said.

The project is to be a joint venture with Japanese developer Mitsui Fudosan, which is operating Kashiwa-no-ha Smart City in Chiba prefecture, around 25 kilometres away from Japan's capital Tokyo.

"We could learn a lesson from our partner Mitsui Fudosan, which has spent more than a decade developing Kashiwa-no-ha Smart City. The project is not expected to be completed until 2030," he said.

Mitsui Fudosan started developing the area over a decade ago from a 60-acre golf course. The Japanese smart city is not only for residential but also new industries and services to accommodate the people living there.

"This model will answer the question of what people want to see in the next 10-20 years. We are designing a new city that will suit future Thai demand," said Mr Chanond.

However, he admitted it would take time before such a city could be built as it would require thousands of rai of land, support from state authorities and a legal amendment.

"Alternatively, we could buy a large chunk of government land, with the state partnering in the project," he said.

Mr Chanond mentioned the large swath of land owned by the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) in Bangkok's Makkasan district as suitable for a smart city.

However, as SRT is a state enterprise it is governed by a complicated set of laws dictating the way it leases land across the country. Using the land would require some legal amendments that could take several years, he said.

"The government could figure out a way to lease it or sell it fairly. We would be very happy to join an auction if the government wanted to make use of the land."

Ananda's concept calls for solar and wind power-generating systems, but most power-generating issues are regulated by the government. A private firm would likely need a licence to develop renewable energy and sell the power to state utilities, he said.