Thailand goes ahead with developing U-Tapao Airport

BANGKOK, January 31 (TNA) - The Ministry of Transport will carry on a plan to develop the U-Tapao International Airport in Thailand's eastern Rayong province, about 190 kilometers from Bangkok, to initially serve up to three million passengers yearly. The decision was made at a meeting in Bangkok on Thursday to discuss development approaches and commercial services of the the U-Tapao International Airport, chaired by Thai Transport Minister Chadchat Sittipunt. Voradej Harnprasert, Director-General of the ministry's Department of Civil Aviation, told journalists after the meeting that passenger terminals of the U-Tapao International Airport will be improved this year, as preliminary information has shown that the U-Tapao International Airport has potential to serve up to three million passengers annually. Voradej said, for an idea to have Airports Authority of Thailand Public Company Limited (AOT), to entirely manage the U-Tapao International Airport, the meeting agreed that it should be gradually implemented, as the Royal Thai Navy wants to maintain its authority over the airport management because it still needs to use the facility at least for annual military drills. According to the Department of Civil Aviation chief, a plan to extend the Airport Rail Link system, under the supervision of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), to the U-Tapao International Airport was also discussed, as the Thai government has planned a high-speed train service from Bangkok to Rayong and the new rail system should be connected with the U-Tapao International Airport. The senior official acknowledged the meeting also agreed that the construction of the second runway of the U-Tapao International Airport should be deferred pending a study on the possibility of the airport's potential growth in its number of passengers in the future. (TNA)