Bangkok Airports set for $4.8b expansion as tourism booms
The operator of Bangkok’s two main airports plans to spend about $4.8b to more than double capacity by the end of the decade to cope with a surge in post-pandemic tourism. In the biggest expansion of Suvarnabhumi airport since it opened in 2006, two new runways, a new terminal and the expansion of the existing passenger terminal will increase annual capacity to 135m travelers from about 60m now, Airports of Thailand Pcl President Kerati Kijmanawat said in an interview. The project will cost about 140b baht ($3.8b), he said. A new international terminal to be built at Don Mueang airport and renovation of the existing building, at a cost of 36b baht, will lift capacity to 50m passengers a year by 2030 from 30m now, he said. The older Don Mueang mostly handles regional and budget carriers. AOT, as the state-controlled company is known, will use internal revenue for the projects and consider bank loans only if necessary, Kerati said. AOT is on course to more than double net income to 21b baht in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The company is also keen to bid to build two new airports announced by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin that may cost 70b baht each, either alone or in partnership, Kerati said. Srettha has proposed new gateways in Chiang Mai, a popular tourist destination in northern Thailand, and in the Andamans, near the resort island of Phuket — where the existing airports are struggling to cope. Srettha, a former property mogul, has vowed to turn Thailand into a regional aviation and logistics hub, building on the nation’s reputation as a tourist hotspot. He is also steering an initiative for a Schengen-type single visa for six Southeast Asian countries. Central to that plan will be AOT’s ability to increase passenger capacity and ensure a hassle-free experience for tens of millions of visitors to Thailand, whose spending make up about 12% of the country’s gross domestic product. But it faces challenges from regional airports like Singapore’s Changi — ranked the world’s second-best — and the need to improve Suvarnabhumi’s position from a low of 58.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2024-05-01/general/bangkok-airports-set-for-4-8b-expansion-as-tourism-booms
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Bangkok Airports set for $4.8b expansion as tourism booms
The operator of Bangkok’s two main airports plans to spend about $4.8b to more than double capacity by the end of the decade to cope with a surge in post-pandemic tourism. In the biggest expansion of Suvarnabhumi airport since it opened in 2006, two new runways, a new terminal and the expansion of the existing passenger terminal will increase annual capacity to 135m travelers from about 60m now, Airports of Thailand Pcl President Kerati Kijmanawat said in an interview. The project will cost about 140b baht ($3.8b), he said. A new international terminal to be built at Don Mueang airport and renovation of the existing building, at a cost of 36b baht, will lift capacity to 50m passengers a year by 2030 from 30m now, he said. The older Don Mueang mostly handles regional and budget carriers. AOT, as the state-controlled company is known, will use internal revenue for the projects and consider bank loans only if necessary, Kerati said. AOT is on course to more than double net income to 21b baht in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The company is also keen to bid to build two new airports announced by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin that may cost 70b baht each, either alone or in partnership, Kerati said. Srettha has proposed new gateways in Chiang Mai, a popular tourist destination in northern Thailand, and in the Andamans, near the resort island of Phuket — where the existing airports are struggling to cope. Srettha, a former property mogul, has vowed to turn Thailand into a regional aviation and logistics hub, building on the nation’s reputation as a tourist hotspot. He is also steering an initiative for a Schengen-type single visa for six Southeast Asian countries. Central to that plan will be AOT’s ability to increase passenger capacity and ensure a hassle-free experience for tens of millions of visitors to Thailand, whose spending make up about 12% of the country’s gross domestic product. But it faces challenges from regional airports like Singapore’s Changi — ranked the world’s second-best — and the need to improve Suvarnabhumi’s position from a low of 58.<br/>
