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Redevelopment of U-Tapao airport suspended after Navy objections

Thanachot Anuwan

Plans to transform U-Tapao Pattaya International Airport into a modern aviation facility have been suspended after the Royal Thai Navy refused to approve construction of a new passenger terminal.

Thosaporn Thepabut addresses the Pattaya City Council about the situation in U-Tapao.

Thosaporn Thepabut, Democrat MP from Phuket and Deputy Chairman of House Committee on Tourism and Sports, said 600 million baht earmarked for U-Tapao’s new 25,200 sq. meter terminal will be used instead for flood relief and rebuilding in the north.

The government announced in May 2009 a 995 million baht plan to transform U-Tapao into a modern international air hub with the construction of a terminal capable of handling 1,500 passengers per hour, new parking facilities, fuel depot, fire-fighting systems, x-ray machines and improvements to other equipment and landscaping.

The plan became necessary after yellow-shirted anti-government protestors shut down Bangkok’s two international airports two years ago. Pressed into service as the country’s main gateway, U-Tapao was over-run with stranded travelers, causing horrific delays and critical damage to the country’s image.

The Navy, which owns the tiny facility built in 1965 and used by the US military during the Vietnam War, approved the redevelopment and name change in September last year. At the same time, it asked Pattaya officials to pay for new signs, landscape improvements and a railroad station that would connect Pattaya with the airport about a 45-minute drive outside the city.

However, during a December 18 inspection of the airport and Chonburi’s sports facilities, Thosaporn said the Navy has stalled signing the terminal-construction contract so long, the House has been forced to reapportion the money for disaster relief.

Pattaya Mail reporters tried to get a comment from the Navy officials as to the reasons for not signing the terminal-construction contract with the contractor, but were told that the matter was confidential and could not be made public.

Thosaporn encouraged tourist-related businesses, airlines and local governments to write to the committee to urge the program to continue, deeming it vital to development of tourism in the Eastern Seaboard.


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