AIRPORTS of Thailand (AoT) is preparing to scale up Suvarnabhumi Airport in the coming years, with a new terminal and monorail system on the table even as it juggles with plans to expand the existing facility.
The Bangkok Post reported that AoT is working on a 24 billion baht (US$752.3 million) proposal for the new terminal and monorail system that will give Suvarnabhumi the ability to handle 20 million more passengers a year, to be submitted to the Thai cabinet by end-2014.
AoT board chairman, Prasong Phunthanet, was quoted as saying that bidding will commence for the monorail system next year, and that the new terminal will be finished by 2018.
The same article said that plans to install an advance passenger processing system – that would allow Thai officials to call up passenger profiles from their countries of origin and check if departing passengers have been banned from leaving the country – at Suvarnabhumi remains under review, while proposal drafting for a third runway are also ongoing.
With these, the second phase of development for Suvarnabhumi Airport’s existing terminal is taking a back seat.
The National News Bureau of Thailand reported that expansion was aimed at increasing the international airport’s capacity from the existing 45 million annually to 60 million by 2017, especially with ASEAN economic integration expected to happen in 2015.
Traffic at the facility is already exceeding intended capacity, with 50 million travellers passing through each year.
