China News Service, Bangkok, March 1 (Reporter Li Yingmin) March 1 is the first day of the implementation of the mutual visa exemption policy between China and Thailand.
On the same day, Thai Prime Minister Saitha Thakur announced in Bangkok the upgrade of airports across the country, hoping to build Thailand into an aviation hub in the Asia-Pacific region.
Among the plans announced by Setar, the most eye-catching one is to upgrade Thailand’s central airport, Suvarnabhumi Airport, into one of the top 20 airports in the world within five years.
Saita believes that Thailand has the strategic location advantage in the center of the Asia-Pacific region and has the ability to become a hub for air travel connecting the entire Asia-Pacific region.
Saita said that Airports Management of Thailand is already carrying out project plans to increase the passenger throughput of Suvarnabhumi Airport to 150 million passengers per year by 2030.
Saita revealed that Suvarnabhumi Airport will open a third runway this year, further increasing flight capacity from 30 to 90 per hour.
In the next five years, Suvarnabhumi Airport will also build a new passenger terminal and a fourth runway, which will increase the airport's annual throughput to 150 million passengers per year.
On the same day, Setar also announced upgrade plans for other airports:
Bangkok Don Mueang Airport plans to increase passenger throughput from the current 30 million to 50 million by 2030.
A new hub building will also be built within Don Mueang Airport to provide commercial and retail space, as well as a car park for up to 7,600 cars and connections to the city's light rail.
In southern Thailand, a second Phuket Airport will be built to serve tourists to Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi and other southern provinces. The new airport will handle 40 million passengers per year.
The current Phuket Airport will expand the terminal building to increase annual passenger throughput to 18 million by 2030.
Chiang Mai Airport in the north will expand its domestic and international terminals to bring its annual passenger throughput to 16.5 million.
The Thai government is also building a second Chiang Mai Airport, which plans to handle 20 million passengers per year.
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