Phangnga will join development plan
The cupboard yesterday approved a proposal to exchange Udon Thani, Buri Ram and Krabi airports from the Department of Airports in order to fall under the Air-ports of Thailand (AoT) for a new 9. 19-billion-baht air transport development project.
Phangnga airport, expected to open in 2031, will afterwards be included in the exact same development cluster, that will see the total spending budget then increased to 10. 47 billion dollars baht, said mouthpiece government spokeswoman Traisuree Taisaranakul yesterday.
Under the plan, Udon Thani airport will be developed into the main gateway for the upper Northeast, making it each a regional airport and a central surroundings hub, she mentioned.
It will probably be developed along with Buri Ram airport in the lower Northeast to maximise the capacity of surroundings transport in the region, the lady said, adding Buri Ram is also an ideal location for the federal government to promote tourism within minor cities.
Krabi airport terminal is in an outstanding location and can do the exact same for tourism in the South, Ms Traisuree said.
And since Phuket airport has restricted space, Krabi airport can be further expanded to catch up with the expected growth sought after for air travel providers to the lower South, she said.
With Phuket seeing increasingly packed air traffic, Krabi airport will primarily aim to ease this, she noted.
In the near future, Krabi airport will also be capable to accommodate more personal jets, Ms Traisuree said.
Citing an analysis of Thailand’s aviators industry, Ms Traisuree said the industry is certainly expected to begin getting in 2024 within the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic that terribly impacted the global aviation industry.
The development of Udon Thani, Buri Ram plus Krabi airports brings about an improvement in air travel connections each domestically and internationally, she said.
In an preliminary plan, the government was at first considering transferring four airports from your department to the AoT for the same purpose, ie Udon Thani, Sakon Nakhon, Tak plus Chumphon airports, Ms Traisuree said.
The plan, nevertheless , was later revised to further improve the effectiveness of development techniques in order to build a better air travel network, she said.
That was when Udon Thani, Buri Ram memory and Krabi international airports were selected with this clustered development instead, she added.