Phang Nga airport plan put on hold

PHUKET CITY: Plans to build an airport in Phang Nga have been put on ice because of the tsunami.

Deputy Transport Minister Vichet Kasemthongsria last year backed a proposal to build an airport on Koh Kho Khao, an island just north of Baan Nam Khem, in Takuapa District, to serve the province’s then-booming tourist industry.

But Takuapa District Chief Administration Assistant Kanitsorn Kaewmanee told the Gazette today that the national and provinical authorities have decided to set the airport plan to one side while they concentrate on helping the devastated province recover from the tsunami.

K. Kantisorn said, “The airport project has gone very quiet. The Ministry of Transport and the Phang Nga provincial authorities are focusing on supporting tsunami survivors and projects in Takuapa and other areas affected by the tsunami.”

He added, “We need to concentrate on the important things first, but maybe, once these are sorted out, the government and the Ministry of Transport will start looking at the airport project again.”