B5.8bn expansion for Phuket airport approved

After persistent calls from various sectors to develop further the road and airport in Phuket, the government of Thailand has finally approved a 5.79-billion-baht plan to expand Phuket International Airport.

The board of Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) made the approval to make the Phuket airport more appealing for both domestic and foreign tourists.

With budget allocation, it is estimated that Phuket’s passenger handling capacity will double to 12.5 million a year by 2013.

The government of Thailand said the expansion in Phuket would address crowding at Thailand’s second busiest airport and meet the expected rise in air traffic demand over the next decade.

According to the data gathered by AoT, it was discovered that some 5.73 million passengers passed through Phuket airport in 2008.

However, the volume of passengers decreased in the first four months of 2009 due to the economic downturn and local political turmoil, contracting 13.8% to 2.09 million with flights shrinking 17.1% year-on-year to 12,939.

The allocate budget includes the construction of a new terminal for international passengers, improving the existing terminal, upgrading the jet fuelling system and building new taxiways, to commence by the end of next year.

On the other hand, AoT is currently embarking on an in-house study on building a terminal dedicated to private jets at the Phuket airport, part of a bid to further enhance the southern resort island’s growing reputation as a destination for the internationally rich and famous and for jet-setting businesspeople.

It is envisioned by the government that the terminal, the first of its kind in Thailand, would be built separately from the expanding main terminal under a build-transfer-operate contract.

That means private companies would invest in and run the facility but AoT would own it.