Bangkok’s new Suvarnabhumi Airport is expected to open in 2006, giving new impetus to the role of Bangkok and Thailand as the aviation hub of Asia.
Named Suvarnabhumi (meaning “Golden Land”) by His Majesty the King, the new airport is expected to be the most modern in Asia. The Royal Thai Government has prioritized it as part of a “national agenda” of strategic importance to Thailand’s future economic and transportation development.
Of the 11.6 million arrivals to Thailand in 2004, a total of 8.2 million (or about 70.6 %) came through Bangkok. Many use the Thai capital as the gateway for taking onward flights to other destinations throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
Although it has been years in the planning stages, Suvarnabhumi Airport has been pushed to completion under the administration of Prime Minister Dr. Thaksin Shinawatra.
Initially, Suvarnabhumi Airport will handle up to 45 million passengers annually, based on two parallel runways with a total capacity of 76 flights per hour. Upon full completion, it will have four runways and passenger terminals capable of handling 100 million movements a year.
The entire airport will occupy a total area of 8,000 acres, making it five times larger than the present airport, Don Muang. At 563,000 square metres, the passenger terminal will be the world’s largest single building structure.
Roughly 25 kms from downtown Bangkok, the expected travel time by road is around 30 minutes. A number of roads are being constructed to boost accessibility from various sides and facilitate travel to the new airport.
A 28-km overhead rail link between downtown Bangkok and the new airport, now under construction, will cut travelling time between the airport and the city centre to only 15 minutes.
New routes will also link the airport to the popular tourist spots of Pattaya and Rayong. There is also a plan to connect the new airport with the existing airport at Don Muang which will continue to be used for charters as well as other forms of aviation.
