Bangkok International Airport to increase capacity

Airports of Thailand (AoT), the operator of the major Thai airports is planning to spend $2.3 billion on capacity expansion at Bangkok’s main international airport to accommodate an anticipated increase in travel demand.

The massive expansion scheme will begin in 2009, with completion of the work expected by 2014, according to AoT’s senior executive vice president, Kulya Pakakrong, in a statement made to the Thai stock exchange.

The plan and investment are part of an initiative of Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej to put Bangkok’s airport in a more competitive position to attract additional regional air traffic. The prime minister has pledged up to 1.5 trillion Thai baht over the next four years on infrastructure projects, including transportation, to stimulate the country’s economic growth.

“The expansion will benefit the company in the long term because the Suvarnabhumi airport is near its capacity,” Artit Jansawang, a Globex Securities analyst based in Bangkok explained. “The current slowdown in air travel should be short term.”

Suvarnabhumi Airport handled 41 million passengers last year, according to the AoT website. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is predicting that tourist arrivals may increase to 15.7 million this year, a rise of six per cent.

The airports operator did not provide details on the airport’s capacity increase.

www.airportthai.co.th/airportnew/sun/index.asp