The revenue of Don Mueang airport is expected to increase by more than a billion baht a year as a result of the launch of the airport's new Terminal 2 building, the airport agency says.
Airport of Thailand (AoT) chairman Prasong Poontaneat yesterday said Don Mueang airport's revenue will rise by more than one billion baht each year, or 20%, due to an increase in the commercial area at the Terminal 2 building which was developed to accommodate a surge in domestic passenger numbers.
Mr Prasong was speaking after the opening ceremony of the Terminal 2 building at the airport yesterday.
With the new terminal, the airport's commercial area will increase from 6,000 sq m to 16,000 sq m which would be allocated to 267 shops.
This year alone, the airport is expected to earn about 18 billion baht more than last year, particularly between January to March, Mr Prasong said.
The number of passengers using Don Mueang airport is expected to increase by around 16-18% this year, he said.
"The AoT is now working on the third-phase development of Don Mueang airport while the airport's Terminal 1 has been closed temporarily for maintenance to serve passengers from international flights," he said.
In the third phase, he said the agency will build another terminal to connect with the Red Line's Bang Sue-Rangsit link and an Airport Rail Link extension between Don Mueang and Phaya Thai. An extra floor will also be built on a car park building near Terminal 1 to boost its capacity, he said.
After the third phase is completed in 2021, the airport is expected to handle 10 million more passengers a year, up from 30 million to 40 million a year, Mr Prasong said.
Mr Prasong said the AoT also planned to develop five other airports under its supervision to cope with the expansion of low-cost airlines.
The five airports are Suvarnabhumi, Chiang Mai, Mae Fah Luang, Phuket and Hat Yai international airports. About 140 billion baht will be allocated for a five-year development plan, he said.
Of the total budget, 110 billion baht will be earmarked for the second-phase development of Suvarnabhumi, seven billion baht for Don Mueang and one billion baht each for the other airports.
This year, Chiang Mai and Hat Yai airports will be the first to be developed under the plan.
Mr Prasong said the AoT did not have to rely on loans as the budget was financed by 48 billion baht from the state and AoT's 25 billion baht in annual revenue, or 100 billion baht over the next four years.
AoT president Nitinai Sirismatthakarn said seven billion baht was initially earmarked for the third-phase development of Don Mueang airport. However, the amount had to be increased to 20 billion baht.
The third-phase development will be proposed to the AoT board for approval on March 23.
After approval, deserted buildings within the airport's boundary will be removed to ease traffic congestion at the airport. Maintenance work on Terminal 1 will be carried out while the terms of reference will also be drafted in preparation for the bidding.
Mr Nitinai added the development of the six airports will raise capacity to handle more than 165 million passengers a year from 83.5 million a year now.
According to the AoT, Don Mueang airport now serves 83.5 million passengers a year despite its capacity of only 18.5 million. Suvarnabhumi airport with its capacity of 45 million passengers a year has to handle up to 52 million a year while Phuket airport with its capacity of 6.5 million passengers a year currently accommodates 12 million a year.