U-tapao to get aviation zone
6,500 rai allotted to build EEC hub
Some 6,500 rai of areas around U-tapao airport will be developed into a special investment promotion zone on aviation, a key component to support the government’s much-touted Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) scheme.
Kanit Sangsubhan, secretary-general of the EEC Policy Committee, said the plan to upgrade the surrounding areas into an aviation zone was approved at the committee’s first meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
The 6,500-rai aviation zone will cover aircraft-related business, air cargo and warehouses, which will be 100% open for foreign investment.
The committee also approved yesterday an 8-billion-baht investment budget for a second runway at U-tapao airport. The outlay will come from the central budget of fiscal 2018.
The second runway is expected to be operational in three years.
The government will also allow publicprivate partnership (PPP) for the airport’s second terminal.
The terminal is scheduled to be finished in five years, increasing capacity at the airport to 15 million passengers, up from 3 million.
U-tapao development is part of Thailand’s ambitious plan to be a regional aviation hub. After raising the airport’s capacity to 15 million passengers in the first phase, the second phase calls for servicing 30 million passengers in 10 years. The final stage is to handle 60 million passengers in 20 years.
The development is projected to require combined investment of 200 billion baht.
U-tapao airport development is the first infrastructure project the government seriously wants to open for bidding this year, he said.
Other fast-track developments are the Bangkok-Rayong high-speed rail project worth 158 billion baht, which is expected to be opened for bidding this year under the PPP scheme, the 88-billion-baht third phase of the Laem Chabang deep-sea port, and the 64.3-billion-baht doubletrack rail link between the three deep-sea ports of Bangkok, Laem Chabang and Map Ta Phut.
Mr Kanit said the premier is set to invoke Section 44 to expedite the PPP scheme, completing the investment process in eight to 10 months.
The National Economic and Social Development Board has been assigned to map out the new government centre and residential areas in Chachoengsao province. The project is expected to take 15 years and cost 200 billion baht.
In a related development, Gen Prayut yesterday witnessed the signing of three memoranda of understanding (MoU) on aeronautical industry development between the Royal Thai Navy, Thai Airways International Plc and the Civil Aviation Training Centre. The first MoU calls for the first phase of development of an aircraft maintenance centre, while the second details the first phase of air freight and logistics development. The third MoU underlines cooperation on personal development in the field of aerospace.
In a separate MoU signing, PTT Plc, 50 educational institutes and some private companies agreed yesterday to establish an Eastern Economic Corridor on Innovation worth 1 billion baht.
Thai Lion Air (TLA) appears to be chasing arch rival Thai AirAsia (TAA) for emerging business out of U-tapao airport in Rayong.
No-frills TLA, part of Indonesia’s Lion Group, has resolved to launch flights from the navy-run airfield, which was used by the US Air Force during the Vietnam War from 1966 to 1975.
The low-cost carrier (LCC) has confirmed its intentions with the U-tapao Airport Authority (UAA) and has established a visual presence: a ticket office at the airport’s new passenger terminal, which is scheduled to open in August.
U-tapao would be new ground for TLA’s strategy to compete head-on “wherever” TAA, Thailand’s biggest LCC, has a foothold, according to executives of both airlines.
TAA pioneered low-cost flights out of U-tapao with sister carrier Malaysia AirAsia making its debut in July 2015 with nonstop services from Kuala Lumpur.
TAA has boosted its presence at U-tapao with the opening of seven more routes, propelling traffic volume to levels never seen in the history of the airport built by the US more than 50 years ago.
Some 80% of the 710,000 passengers who passed through U-tapao last year were carried by AirAsia, according to the UAA.
TLA insiders have said the airline is still finalising a plan for U-tapao that is likely to begin in June or July.
The plan zeroes in on two options: a connection with China or the launch of domestic region-to-region services.
Under consideration is the possibility of linking U-tapao with three Chinese cities that TLA currently serves from its Don Mueang hub: Chengdu, Chongqing and Nanchang.
TAA has its own air links with two destinations on the Chinese mainland, Nanchang and Nanning, from U-tapao.
One possibility is for TLA to start China services from U-tapao on a charter basis and develop the traffic before switching to scheduled flights.
TLA appears to be intensifying its China strategy this year, with at least two routes looming large on the radar.
The cities of Jiangsu and Kunming are likely to be TLA’s next destinations from Don Mueang, as the airline anticipates demand from secondary Chinese cities for travel to Thailand, one of China’s top foreign destinations.