Thailand expands capacities of airports

BANGKOK, July 1 (TNA) - Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited (AOT) plans to implement airport expansion projects, including the Kingdom's main Suvarnabhumi International Airport and those in provincial areas. AOT Board Chairman Prasong Poontaneat told journalists on Tuesday that the Thai army-led National Council for Peace and Order's committee scrutinizing government spending is examining AOT's second-phase Suvarnabhumi Airport expansion project and advance passenger screening service project. Prasong said after the examination to ensure their transparency, AOT will implement them right away to boost the capacities of international airports in Thailand. The AOT board chair revealed that the airport expansion project covers Phuket International Airport in the Thai South to relieve its congestion, as Phuket Airport was first designed to serve 6.5 million international passengers yearly, but its actual passengers now reach about 11 million annually. Marking its 35th anniversary on July 1, 2014, AOT reported, meanwhile, that Thai airports served a total of about 60.34 million international passengers from October 2013 to May 2014, a 4.2 per cent year-on-year increase, and 419,363 flights during the same period, a 13.2 per cent year-on-year rise.(TNA)