While Phuket International Airport continues to undergo a massive renovation project, plans have been leaked about a possible mega-project north of Phuket that would be developed by Bangkok Airways. The tentatively named Phang Nga-Andaman International Airport would seek to ease the congestion currently plaguing both the Phuket and Krabi airports.
According to local media outlets, a proposal has been submitted to the Forest Department to build the airport in Phang Nga’s Thai Muang district on a 2,000 rai site. The runway would be 3,000 metres, which makes it longer than the one found at Samui’s airport. No specifics were available on the cost or facilities the proposed airport would have.
The project is likely to be a public-private-sector partnership or a solely private investment, tourism-industry sources told local newspapers. It is being reported that Bangkok Airways is in talks with Phang Nga province for a large-scale land lease for the facility. An environmental impact assessment is also in the planning stages.
Passenger arrivals at Phuket International Airport surpassed the 6.4 million mark, while Krabi Airport saw more than 1.8 million arrivals with tourism numbers for the region as a whole likely to keep increasing. Arrivals to the region have grown significantly during the past ten years.
“What a difference a decade makes. The Thai resort market of Phang Nga is expected to achieve 1 million hotel guests in 2016,” Bill Barnett, managing director of C9 Hotelworks explains to The Nation. “Roll back the clock to 2005 in the aftermath of the Asian tsunami the year before, and fewer than 300,000 hotel guest arrivals materialised.”
The new airport would help increase the number arrivals Phuket and the surroundings could handle on a yearly basis. The project would also serve as a tourism hub for Phang Nga, an area that can be difficult for some tourists to get to.
