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New airport for Bangkok
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Bangkok’s new Suvarnabhumi Airport is expected to open for business
sometime in 2006, giving new impetus to the role of
Bangkok and
Thailand as the aviation
hub of Asia.
 Although
a formal opening date has been scheduled for September 29, 2005, the start
of full-fledged commercial operations will depend on completion of all the
tests and securing the necessary licensing and certification approvals from
the various international aviation regulatory authorities.
Named Suvarnabhumi (meaning 'Golden Land') by His Majesty the King, the new
airport is expected to be the most modern in Asia. The Royal Thai government
has prioritised it as a "national agenda" of strategic importance to the
future economic and transportation development of the country.
Of the 11.6 million arrivals to Thailand in 2004, a total of 8.2 million (or
about 70.6 percent) came through Bangkok. Many of them use the Thai capital
as the gateway for taking onward flights to numerous other destinations
throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
Initially, Suvarnabhumi Airport will be able to handle up to 45 million
passengers annually. After completion of the final phase, this will rise to
100 million passengers a year.
Upon opening, it will have two parallel runways with a total capacity of 76
flights per hour. Once complete, the airport will have four runways.
The entire airport will occupy a total area of 8000 acres, making it five
times larger than the present airport, Don Muang. At 563 000 square metres,
the passenger terminal will be one of the world’s largest single building
structures. The total investment cost is estimated at 155 billion baht
(about R26-billion).
Roughly 25 kilometres from downtown Bangkok, the expected travel time by
road is around 40 minutes. A number of roads are being constructed all
around the airport to boost accessibility from various sides and make travel
to the new airport easier and quicker.
In addition, the Thai cabinet has approved a 30-billion baht (about
R5-billion) budget for a 28 kilometre overhead rail link between downtown
Bangkok and the new airport. This will cut travelling time between the
airport and the city centre to only 15 minutes.
New routes will also link the airport to the popular tourist spots of
Pattaya
and Rayong. There is also a plan to connect the new airport with the
existing airport at Don Muang, which will continue to be used for charters
as well as other forms of aviation.
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