Suvarnabhumi Airport

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Suvarnabhumi Airport (Thai ท่าอากาศยานสุวรรณภูมิ), also New Bangkok International Airport (NBIA) or Second Bangkok International Airport (SBIA) is the long-delayed new international airport of Bangkok, Thailand. When completed, it is proposed that it will inherit its IATA airport code BKK from Bangkok International Airport. The ICAO code for the airport will be VTBS. After numerous delays, the airport is now scheduled to open in July 2006, although in December 2005 the Ministry of Transport has announced that further delays are likely. [1]

The airport is located in Racha Thewa in the Bang Phli district of Samut Prakan province, some 25 kilometers east of Bangkok. The name Suvarnabhumi (pronounced su-wan-na-poom) was chosen by HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej which means "the golden land", specifically referring to the continental Indochina. Designed by Murphy/Jahn Architects, the airport will have the tallest control tower (132 m.) and the largest single building (563,000 m²) in the world at the time of its completion in 2006. The airport will replace the current Bangkok International Airport (Don Muang) as Bangkok's primary airport, although low-cost carriers, small private jets, chartered flights, military aircraft and aircraft maintenance will continue to use the old airport.

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History

The plot of land occupied by the airport with an approximate area of 8,000 acres (324 km²) was purchased back in 1973, but the Thammasat student uprising on October 6 of the same year succeeded in overthrowing the military government of dictator Thanom Kittikachorn and the project was shelved. After a series of ups and downs, the "New Bangkok International Airport" company (NBIA) was formed in 1996. Due to political and economic instabilities, notably the Asian financial crisis of 1997, the civil construction began only six years later in January 2002. The airport is located in a once low-lying marsh, formerly known as Nong Ngu Hao ("Cobra Swamp"), which took about 5 years (1997 - 2001) to clear through land reclamation. In 2005, the construction supervision and management was transferred to the Airports of Thailand PLC, while the NBIA company was dissolved.

The airport was due to open in late 2005, but a series of budget overruns, construction flaws, political interference and allegations of corruption continues to plague the project, and after much speculation the Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced that the airport would be open by July 2006 at the latest. Symbolic first test flights involving two Thai Airways aircraft were held on September 29, 2005, a previously announced deadline for opening.

The construction of the City Airport Terminal in Makkasan and a 28.6 km high-speed rail link to the new airport started in July 2005 and are planned for completion in November 2007, although this deadline, too, seems unlikely to be met. The airport express, informally known as the Pink Line and operated jointly with SRT's planned Red Line commuter service, will connect with the BTS Sukhumvit Line and MRT Blue Line at Phaya Thai and Phetchaburi stations respectively, offering airport-bound passengers a fast 15-minute limited stop journey from the city.

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Specifications

The airport has 2 parallel runways (60 m. wide, 4,000 m. and 3700 m. long) and 2 parallel taxiways to accommodate simultaneous departures and arrivals. It has a total of 120 parking bays (51 with contact gates and 69 remote gates) and 5 of these are capable of accommodating the Airbus A380 aircraft. With a capacity of handling 76 flight operations per hour, both international and domestic flights will share the airport terminal but will be assigned to different parts of the concourse. In the initial phase of construction, it will be capable of handling 45 million passengers and 3 million tonnes of cargo per year. Above the underground rail link station and in front of the passenger terminal building is the 600-room hotel operated by Accor Group under the Novotel brand. Between the airport hotel and the terminal building are the two 5-storey car park buildings with a combined capacity of 5,000 cars. The airport has 5 main access routes, among these the most convenient route is via the Bangkok-Chon Buri Motorway (Highway No. 7). In addition to the express rail link, 11 city bus routes operated by BMTA will serve the airport.

Long-term plans for four runways flanking two main terminals and two satellite buildings with a combined capacity capable of handling up to 100 million passengers and 6.4 million tonnes of cargo a year are on the drawing board. The second phase of airport expansion involving the construction of a satellite building south of the main terminal is expected to begin 3 to 5 years after the completion of the first main terminal.

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