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Thailand's Busiest Airport to Invest $4.3 Billion for Expansion

Thailand's Busiest Airport to Invest $4.3 Billion for Expansion
Suvarnabhumi International Airport © archdaily

Airports of Thailand Pcl plans to invest 140 billion baht (US$4.26 billion) to expand the Thailand’s main airport as it expects an increase in passenger arrivals, a senior executive said on Monday (Oct 8) to Reuters.

Suvarnabhumi airport will add a second satellite terminal, a third terminal and a fourth runway to bring its capacity to 150 million passengers per year in its fourth and fifth expansion phases from 2021 to 2030, Senior Executive Vice President Anake Teeraviwatchai told reporters.

 Thailand's Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK) is seen during dusk in Bangkok, Feb 20, 2018. Image: REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
Thailand's Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK) is seen during dusk in Bangkok, Feb 20, 2018. Image: REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

 

The passenger terminal will feature extensive wooden cladding and a forested landscape. Tropical forests inspired the blueprint for the building and the aim is to give travelers a feeling of Thailand’s uniqueness

“Airports tend to have similar features -- they’re white, cold and metallic,” Duangrit said to Bloomberg.

Rendering of Suvarnabhumi Terminal II design proposal. Image: Duangrit Bunnag Architect Limited
Rendering of Suvarnabhumi Terminal II design proposal. Image: Duangrit Bunnag Architect Limited

“I wanted a design that immediately gives travelers the feeling they’ve arrived in Thailand. It will be a metal structure covered with wood. Different treatments can be applied to the timber to ensure fire resistance.”

Airports of Thailand, a prime beneficiary of Thailand's tourism boom, has seen profits jump with arrival numbers, but has been unable to cope with overstretched capacity.

Rendering of Suvarnabhumi Terminal II design proposal. Image: Duangrit Bunnag Architect Limited
Rendering of Suvarnabhumi Terminal II design proposal. Image: Duangrit Bunnag Architect Limited

 

According to Bloomberg report, Airports of Thailand is also the biggest Asian airport operator by market capitalization.

Passenger arrivals are expected to touch 100 million per year over the next 10 years, Anek said adding that a train service would also link terminals.

Suvarnabhumi airport currently has a capacity of 45 million passengers, but handles 60 million.

Image: Bloomberg
Image: Bloomberg

Thailand expects tourist arrivals to reach 37.5 million this year, up 6 per cent from 2017.

The airport is in the second phase of expansion, which will be completed in 2020 and bring capacity to 60 million passengers per year. Another 63 billion baht has been allotted for the third phase of expansion to bring capacity to 90 million passengers.

 

Indah Gilang Pusparani

Indah is a researcher at Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Penelitian dan Pengembangan Daerah Kota Cirebon (Regional Development Planning and Research Agency of Cirebon Municipality). She covers More international relations, tourism, and startups in Southeast Asia region and beyond. Indah graduated from MSc Development Administration and Planning from University College London, United Kingdom in 2015. She finished bachelor degree from International Relations from University of Indonesia in 2014, with two exchange programs in Political Science at National University of Singapore and New Media in Journalism at Ball State University, USA. She was awarded Diplomacy Award at Harvard World Model United Nations and named as Indonesian Gifted Researcher by Australian National University. She is Researcher at Regional Planning Board in Cirebon, West Java. She previously worked as Editor in Bening Communication, the Commonwealth Parliament Association UK, and diplomacy consulting firm Best Delegate LLC in USA. Less
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