"Thailand to speed up construction of new airport"

Tuesday, October 8, 2002

Thailand to speed up construction of new airport 
Task force to be set up to ensure project finishes on time 
Singapore - Business Times


BANGKOK - Thailand's new transport minister Suriya Jungrungruangkit is
to establish a task force to speed up the construction of Bangkok's
much-delayed new international airport, a report said.

In an interview with the Bangkok Post, Mr Suriya repeated the
government's insistence that the US$5.0 billion facility will be
finished on time by the end of 2004, ready to open the following year. 

The former industry minister, who was appointed to his new post in a
cabinet reshuffle unveiled last Thursday, said a team of experts on the
task force would monitor construction on a regular basis in order to
speed up the work. 
  
Plans for a mass transit system to be built in the crowded capital,
which currently only has a limited Skytrain network in the inner city,
would also be studied during his tenure, he said. 

'My plan is to extend the route of the Bangkok Transit System Skytrain
and tie in support routes from the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority,' he
said. 

Aviation industry experts have said they are extremely doubtful that the
new Suvarnabhumi Airport, which has been on the drawing board for four
decades, will open on time in 2005. 

Critics of the facility, which will replace the existing Don Muang
international airport, also say they are concerned that by the time it
is finished, its capacity will already be outstripped by rising
passenger and freight demand.


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