B36bn gets nod for Don Mueang phase 3

A budget of 36 billion baht has been approved by the cabinet for the phase-3 development of Don Mueang airport, the country’s second-biggest gateway.

Government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said the cabinet yesterday gave the green light to the capacityboosting project in order to alleviate congestion on the ground and in the air ahead of the opening of new connecting railway projects in the future.

The largest slice of the budget will come from Airports of Thailand (AoT) revenues with additional funds obtained from external sources.

The government spokesman said the two current passenger terminals can handle up to 30 million passengers a year. The expansion will boost that figure to 40 million.

Work under the project is divided into six segments.

The first segment will be the development of an area to the south of the airport where the construction of a third passenger terminal building with a new concourse will proceed. Also taking place is the renovation of a seven-storey car park.

Another segment will involve the development of the airport’s northern side, such as the renovation of aircraft parking bays and expansion of the northern concourse as well as offices and VVIP lounges.

Other segments include the construction of a flight operation area, the renovation of passenger terminal building 1, a utility system, and environmental work.

Meanwhile, the cabinet acknowledged the national carrier had enjoyed an improved performance in operations and profits as well as an increase in liquidity since the easing of Covid19 restrictions and the reopening of the borders.

Deputy government spokeswoman Traisuree Taisaranakul said THAI is showing signs of a rapid recovery as routes suspended during the pandemic come back online.

The performances of THAI and its subsidiaries are on the rebound. The airline recently released the performance results of the company and its subsidiaries in the third quarter.

Its operating profits, excluding onetime transactions, amounted to 3.9 billion baht, compared to the 5.3-billionbaht loss in the same period last year.

Total revenue came to 32.86 billion baht, higher than during the same period last year by 582%.