Page 28 - AAA MAY - JUNE 2018 Online Magazine

ager to build on the success it has had
in wooing international aerospace
companies, Thailand is continuing
Eto invest in infrastructure improve-
ments along its Eastern Economic Corridor
(EEC) as it seeks to strengthen its economy
and take advantage of the fact that the Asia
Pacific region is fast becoming the epicenter
of global aviation.
Public and private funds worth US$45
billion will be spent on the second phase of include an expanded passenger terminal, the maintenance and
expansion of the region, which was earlier overhaul (MRO) facility, free trade zone, cargo zone and an
called the Eastern Seaboard of Thailand. aviation training center. The proposed aerotropolis will have
The funds will be used for the general connectivity to not just the two other major airports but also
development of the region that covers the highways and seaports. Work is expected to be complete by
three coastal provinces east of Bangkok 2023.
– Chonburi, Rayong and Chachoengsao –
and will include the expansion of the Laem Major Plans for U-Tapao Airport
Chabang port, the country’s largest deep-wa- Plans for the U-Tapao airport include the construction of a new
ter port, the construction of a motorway runway by 2021 as well as a third terminal at the airport. The
as well as a high-speed railway linking the US$5.9 billion expansion of the U-Tapao international airport
country’s three major airports in the country comes at a time when the country’s two existing international
- Suvarnabhumi, U-Tapao, and Don Mueang. gateways, Suvarnabhumi and Mueang, are finding it tough to
The focus, however, will be on the develop- handle the increase in traffic. Air traffic in Thailand is growing
ment of the U-Tapao airport, the planned much faster than the global average and has doubled every
Maintenance Repair & Overhaul (MRO) facil- 15 years since the Eighties and is expected to grow at an
ity near it and the proposed airport city built average annual average rate of 3.8 percent over the next two
around the airport. The infrastructure devel- decades to reach seven billion passengers by 2034. According
opment will cover over 400 hectares and will to media reports, the terms of reference for the expansion of
be geared toward attracting investment from the airport will be released in July this year. Once expansion of
companies in the aviation industry; the plans the U-Tapao airport is complete, it will be equipped to handle

BETTING BIG

ON AVIATION

Thailand has pulled out all the stops to
attract international aviation companies

Arun Sivasankaran
28 | May/June 2018 www.GBP.com.sg/AAA