New airports approved for Phuket and Chiang Mai
After four years of false starts and rumours it looks like Phuket will now get a much-needed second airport to feed the island and the surrounding region. Yesterday’s announcement by AoT (Airports of Thailand) comes after extensive studies to examine the extension of the current Phuket airport runway which is hemmed in by Thepkasattri Road at one end and the Andaman Sea at the other.
The newly announced airport won’t actually be on the island. It will be in Phang Nga, north of Phuket. Bangkok Airways has been discussing the proposal with the Government of a privately run airport for Phang Nga. Bangkok Airways operate the privately owned airport on Koh Samui. It appears that the Government will build and manage the new airport through the AoT.
The AoT board of directors have approved the construction of second airports for Phuket and Chiang Mai with a combined budget of 120 billion baht.
Each new airport is budgeted at 60 billion baht, said AOT president Nitinai Sirismatthakarn, with construction beginning in 2019 and completed no later than 2025.
The second Phuket International Airport would be built in Phang Nga’s Ban Khok Kruad district. The second Chiang Mai International Airport would be built in Lamphun’s Ban Thi district.
The new airports would be about 20 to 30 kilometres distant from the first airports, Nitinai added.
Older stories about the proposed Phang Nga airport HERE and HERE.
SOURCES: The Nation, The Thaiger
