Airports of Thailand Plc today successfully had the consulting and management contract for the second phase development of Suvarnabhumi Airport, which would require a total investment of Bt62.5 billion.
AOT President Aniruth Thanomkulabutr said after the contract signing with EPM Consortium that upon completion in 2017, the expanded Suvarnahbumi Airport will be able to accommodate a total of 60 million passengers per annum. EPM Consortium’s contract is worth Bt809.9 million.
Last year, the airport which was opened in 2006 catered services to 48 million passengers, despite its maximum capacity of 45 million. Aniruth said that the number of passengers is expected to rise to 51 million this year and there is no end in sight.
The Suvarnabhumi Phase II project will cover four main areas.
1. It entails a secondary concorde with 216,000 square metres in usable space. It is equipped with 28 near-terminal parking bays and the remote parking bay with 960,000 square metres in space. This will also encompass a southern tunnel and passenger transportation system.
2. The construction of a new passenger terminal on the east of the airport, an airline office building and a parking building.
3. The designing and construction of infrastructure system.
4. The project management
“EPM Consortium is primarily tasked to manage the project, which includes the finalising of project details, the selection of a designing team, and the oversight on designing and construction,” Aniruth said.
Under the 70-month contract, EPM will start its job from June 1.
EPM Consortium was involved in the Suvarnabhumi Phase I development project.
Why on earth are they thinking of a “new passenger terminal on the east of the airport”? The original master plan was completed in ther early 1990’s, and allowed for expansion up to 100 MAP with two terminals, two satellite concourses, and four runways. The second termnal was a mirror image of the first, between the runways at the southern end, because that minimises aircraft movements on the ground, an important economic consideration. Placing a terminal to the east will mean aircraft crossing runways, which has a major impact on capacity.
TCN EDITOR: Stephen i think there is a error in the report as you have spotted, as all details i have seen point to the new terminal being to the South of the existing Terminal and not to the East – with an underground conveyor linking the 2 terminals.