Permission for the around-the-clock operations of entertainment places in the U-Tapao airport complex in Rayong province does not apply to nearby Pattaya and Rayong, according to the government.
Deputy government spokeswoman Traisuree Taisaranakul said on Sunday that the Interior Ministry notice in Friday's Royal Gazette allowing entertainment venues in the U-Tapao International Airport & Eastern Airport City Project to operate around the clock applied to those places only – not, as some misunderstood, to nearby areas like Pattaya City and other areas in Rayong province.
The permission applied only to the boundary of U-Tapao airport which included the Eastern Airport City site, Ms Traisuree said.
“Places in other areas outside the airport are subject to the regulation on normal operating hours,” she said. Closing times for entertainment venues in other areas were mostly set at either midnight or 2am.
The Eastern Airport City Project covers 6,500 rai of land in the U-tapao airport compound and the around-the-clock operating hours were announced to suit aviation activities which must run around the clock, Ms Traisuree said.
According to the government spokeswoman, the U-Tapao International Airport & Eastern Airport City Project was an infrastructure project to upgrade U-Tapao airport, making it the country's third main international commercial airport after Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi airports.
The three airports will be connected with a high-speed railway and be capable of serving a combined number of 200 million air passengers per year.
“That will promote the Eastern Economic Corridor as a centre of targeted businesses and industries,” Ms Traisuree said.
The U-Tapao International Airport & Eastern Airport City Project consist of passenger terminals, a commerce and land transport centre, an aircraft maintenance repair and overhaul centre, a free trade zone, a cargo complex and an aviation training centre, she said.
