Software Park Phuket is to officially kick of services from its first phase of development on Saturday, 20 June 2009.

Director Kongkiat Kespechara said the soft opening was intended to demonstrate the readiness of the park's facilities and its business-incubation centre.

The first phase of development has cost about Bt25 million. The park has 1,250 square metres of floor space in a three-storey building and has seven tenants - four Phuket-based software firms and three foreign software entrepreneurs.

"The rental space is already fully occupied and we have five or six companies on our waiting list to rent space," Kongkiat said. "We are offering around 50 to 100 square metres to each tenant."

The park's business-incubation centre offers facilities and services including business consultancy, marketing services and business matching for new enterprises. Five "incubatees" have already moved into the centre and the park expects to double this number by the end of this year. The number of incubates is expected to rise to 30 next year.

Software Park Phuket plans eventually to occupy 10 rai (1.6 hectares) of land with three main buildings: one housing rental space, the incubation centre and a research and development centre.

The park is owned and operated by a private firm called Blue Lagoon (Thailand), a subsidiary of Phuket property firm Anuphas Group. Its development began last year.

Software Park Phuket aims to help local industry to expand beyond reliance on tourism and hospitality and into software. The revenue-generating capability of industry in Phuket has to grow beyond the unsustainable tourism and hospitality industries that are currently seriously affected by the economic downturn, Kongkiat said.

The park's second phase of development is about to begin. It will cost a further Bt1.2 billion, coming from a bank load, an increase in the park's capital and a joint-venture investment.

The second phase will involve the construction of a new five-storey building providing 2.500 square metres of rental space, a 43-unit serviced-apartment block and a 400-seat meeting hall.

"Some of these services are expected to be available by April new year, including the meeting hall and the rental space," Kongkiat said.

In October this year Software Park Phuket will be joined by Software Park Thailand in hosting the Regional Software Park Forum 2009. About 400 guests from the Asia-Pacific and Oceania region are expected to attend.