Construction of U-Tapao Airport, phase 2, set in coming months

BANGKOK, August 27 (TNA) - The construction of the U-Tapao International Airport, phase 2, is expected to be started in the coming months, following an official bidding process opened for international private firms that are interested in the project. Uttama Savanayana told journalists of the update while leading a Chinese delegation, led by State Councilor Wang Yong to visit the U-Tapao International Airport in Rayong Province last weekend to observe the expansion plan of the eastern Thai airport. Uttama said that the construction of the U-Tapao International Airport, phase 2, after a handout of the terms of reference (TOR) paper to interested parties in October 2018, will follow an official bidding process recently, in which international firms join the contest, seven of them are Chinese bidders, with the winning bidder granted a contract to construct a new railway for an electric train project linking U-Tapao International Airport with the Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok and the Suvarnabhumi International Airport on the outskirts of the city. Uttama assessed that, supported by the new mega-transport infrastructure projects, international investment projects, including those of China, at the Thai government-backed Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) Project should be progressive considerably over the next six months. After observing the expansion plan of the U-Tapao International Airport, the Chinese delegates further visited the Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology (VISTEC) in Rayong, where they were briefed by Thai Deputy Transport Minister Pairin Chuchotethavorn on the background and objectives of the Thai Kingdom's number one industrial research higher educational institute, in which courses are emphasized on the studies of space and innovations in advanced science and engineering in order to upgrade the Thai industrial sector. VISTEC has also announced its goal of becoming one of the world's top 50 research universities by 2035. Meanwhile, EEC Policy Committee Secretary-General Kanit Sangsubhan, stated that the expansion of the U-Tapao International Airport, including the construction of its new runway, a new passenger terminal and an aircraft maintenance center, will, once its completion, serve about 60 million international passengers totally a year over the next five years, from about 700,000 initially and about two million this year. Besides, the expanding U-Tapao International Airport, funded by an investment budget of about 6 billion US dollars, has been set to then become Thailand's eastern aviation hub, where about 10 million international visitors to the adjacent seaside resort Pattaya City can rely on and further travel to Bangkok within about 45 minutes through a new high speed train system. (TNA)