Photos courtesy of Bangkok Post
Authorities are planning to expand the capacity of Suvarnabhumi Airport and Don Mueang Airport to attract more than 100 million passengers each year.
Read the following story from the Bangkok Post to learn more about the expansion.
Airports of Thailand (AOT) PCL aims to expand Suvarnabhumi Airport and Don Mueang Airport to be able to cope with up to 120 million passengers a year by 2021, according to AOT’s president Nitinai Sirismatthakarn.
MASSIVE PLAN
AOT is working on a master plan to develop the airports in line with growth in the aviation industry, said Nitinai, speaking after an event to celebrate the company's 36th anniversary.
"We expect to complete the master plan by early next year," Nitinai said. Under the plan, AOT will invest between 130-140 billion baht over five years in the airports.
Suvarnabhumi Airport is currently capable of handling 45 million passengers a year and Don Mueang Airport can serve 18.5 million. AOT plans to increase those numbers to 80 million and 30 million, respectively, within four to six years.
NEW FACILITIES
Meanwhile, there has been slow progress in expanding Suvarnabhumi Airport — currently in the second phase of its development which entails the construction of two new passenger terminals.
One will be built in March next year and completed by 2019 with a budget between 52 to 55 million baht. The second new passenger terminal, estimated at 27 billion baht, is still awaiting approval from the cabinet.
NEW RUNWAY
AOT also plans to build a third runway at Suvarnabhumi in a project currently undergoing an environmental health impact assessment.
Work is also underway to upgrade Don Mueang Airport, Mr Nitinai said, adding that Concourse 5 is expected to be completed in August and will be open to passengers one month later.
Exercises
Read the story. Then, decide whether each of the following statements is true or false.
1. The AOT aims to expand Suvarnabhumi Airport and Don Mueang Airport to be able to serve up to 120 million passengers a year by 2022.
……………….
2. Suvarnabhumi Airport is now able to handle about 45 million passengers per year.
……………….
3. Concourse 5 has already been completed.
……………….
4. Nitinai Sirismatthakarn is president of AOT.
……………….
Vocabulary
- phase (n): a stage in a process of change or development
assessment (n): an opinion or a judgement about somebody or something that has been thought about very carefully
concourse (n): a large, open part of a public building, especially an airport or a train station
