AOT unveils 2023-2027 enterprise plan to expand capacity at all AOT airports to accommodate 210 million passengers by 2032. Mr. Keerati Kitimanawat, President of Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited (AOT), revealed the AOT Enterprise Plan 2023-2027, stating that the government and the Ministry of Transport have a policy for Thailand to become a regional aviation hub to create opportunities, create a future, and drive the Thai economy sustainably by developing AOT airports to be regional aviation hubs. AOT has a plan to expand the capacity of all AOT airports to accommodate 210 million passengers by 2032, with Suvarnabhumi Airport targeting to accommodate 120 million passengers by 2030, Don Mueang Airport 40 million by 2030, Chiang Mai Airport 20 million by 2032, Phuket Airport 18 million by 2028, and Mae Fah Luang Chiang Rai Airport 6 million by 2032. In the past, Suvarnabhumi Airport was ranked in the top 10 of the world's best airports. However, we are currently ranked 58th in the world because w e cannot compete with airport facilities. Singapore Airport, Tokyo Airport, Istanbul Airport, and Paris Airport have already surpassed us in terms of development. Therefore, we must set a goal for Suvarnabhumi Airport to return to being ranked in the world's top 20 within the next 5 years under the vision of The World Class Airports. In the first phase between 2025-2027, AOT will aim to become an efficient airport service provider. In the second phase between 2028-2032, AOT will aim to become a leader in airport services. And in the third phase between 2033-2037, it will aim to become one of the world's leading airport service providers. In addition, reducing the average time for both international arrival and departure passenger processes is considered important. Modern technology will be used to reduce arrival times from 30 minutes to 25 minutes, a 17% increase, and departure times from 45 minutes to 30 minutes, a 30% increase. Mr. Keerati also mentioned the construction of a new passenger terminal at Suva rnabhumi Airport, saying that the construction of the South Terminal will follow the original master plan. The design will take about 14 months. After that, it will be presented to the Cabinet for budget approval, which is expected to take about 3 months. Initially, the bidding will be opened in early 2027, with construction taking 4 and a half years, and it will open for service at the end of 2031. For the South Terminal, the investment is expected to be around 120 billion baht, with a capacity to support 70 million passengers per year. It will be larger than the current Main Terminal, increasing access to the airport from the south side of Bangna-Trat Road, and there will be a connection to the Bangna-Chonburi Expressway into the building for convenience. The fourth runway (Runway 4), which is located on the east side of the airport, will take approximately 10 months to design the details. It is expected to open for bidding in early 2027, close to the southern passenger terminal, with an estimated investm ent of 20 billion baht because the ground improvement work will take approximately 8 months. The construction bidding is expected to open in early 2027, with a construction period of 3 years, and will open for service in 2030. For the East Expansion project, with an investment budget of approximately 10 billion baht, the detailed design is complete and will be submitted to the AOT board for consideration in September. It will then be submitted to the cabinet for acknowledgement. It is expected to open for bidding in December 2024. The West Expansion of the passenger terminal is waiting for the master plan review to be completed. After that, there will be a detailed design to be in line with the newly reviewed master plan. It is expected that the design will take approximately 8 months. Therefore, the bidding will be opened at the same time as the south passenger terminal. Source: Thai News Agency
Tuesday, September 17, 2024