On January 17, 2021, Thailand’s Minister of Transport, Chiddhob, said that Thailand’s Airports (AOT) approved the expansion of the northern, western and eastern Suvarnabhumi Airport at a cost of 60 billion pounds (529.368 billion yuan).

The plan was approved at meetings of the committee responsible for increasing the airport’s capacity, the National Economic and Social Development Committee, the Ministry of Finance and AOT. The eastward and westward expansion projects will increase the passenger volume by 15 million passengers each year, and the northward expansion will provide services to 30 million passengers each year at a cost of 41.26 billion pounds.

AOT President Nitinai Sirismatthakarn said that AOT is ready to invest as planned. It has a cash flow of 32 billion pounds.

AOT said that before Covid-19, the airport had 60 million passengers per year, while the existing main passenger terminal could only meet the demand for 45 million passengers per year. We are developing a third runway. The capacity of this runway will increase from the current 68 sorties per hour to 90 sorties, and the annual passenger capacity will increase from 60 million to 90 million.

The proposed expansion plan will be reviewed by the Cabinet in March 2021. The bidding process for the northern expansion project is expected to take 6 months, and the project will be completed in September 2023. The eastern and western expansion project is scheduled to be completed in January 2024. Editor/Tian Zengpeng