AoT to spend Bt800 billion to upgrade Suvarnbhumi Airport

The Airports of Thailand (AoT) will continue to improve and expand the country's showcase Suvarnabhumi Airport with a new budget of 800 billion baht (US$23 million), AoT president Serirat Prasutanond said on the third anniversary of the airport's opening. A Buddhist religious ceremony was conducted at the airport on Monday to celebrate the event. AoT will proceed with long-standing plans to increase the airport's capacity by investing in construction of a new domestic terminal to accommodate 20 million additional passengers, a midfield concourse and a third runway. Expanding Suvarnabhumi's capacity to 80 million passengers from 45 million at present is expected to be completed in 2015 or 2016, said Mr Serirat. A budget of 80 billion baht has been planned for the project, with about half coming from AoT's investment budget while the other half will be sought through foreign loans or by bond issues, he said. In the first eleven months of Fiscal Year 2009 which ends September 30, Suvarnabhumi registered 33.87 million passengers and 221,326 flights, and 901,454 tonnes of cargo, said Suvarnabhumi Airport director Niran Thiranartsin. The global economic downturn, domestic political problems and an outbreak of Influenza Type A (H1N1) contributed to drops in flights by 6.74 per cent, passenger numbers by 12.21 per cent and cargo by 24.38 per cent, compared to the same period in the previous year. Mr Niran also said the airport will continue improving its service to become one of the world's top ten airports, a goal which the facility has not achieved. The airport has dealt with varied problems during the past three years and recently cracked down on illegal taxis and tour guides, with unlicensed 1,196 taxi drivers and 535 tour guides being arrested by September 25. An additional 327 surveillance cameras were installed and more security guards were recruited for around the clock duty to prevent baggage theft, he added. (TNA)