B13bn Remodeling for Krabi and 2 more Airports
The Department of Airports (DOA) will spend 13 billion baht on new baggage-screening and automated check-in systems at Krabi, Udon Thani and Surat Thani airports, said DOA director-general Darun Sangchai.
The three registered international airports will be used as models for future renovation and expansion plans for all those managed by the DOA, he said Monday. The department oversees 28 airports nationwide, with the 29th in Betong, Yala province set to open by 2020. The three international airports suffer from overcrowding and their facilities warrant an upgrade, officials say. In 2016, the Krabi gateway serviced over 4 million passengers, double that of the other two.
Mr Darun said the first part of the project will see new conveyor-belt systems and explosive detection systems (EDS) introduced by 2019 at a cost of 8.8 billion baht. Common-use check-in-systems will form the second part, enabling all kiosks to accept passengers from any airline, he said. The cost would be 4.2 billion baht. The airport in Krabi has already been equipped with common-use systems but the other two are still in talks with private companies, he added.
Mr Darun said the department will rely on outsourced services to private companies to service the kiosks on five-year contracts. The DOA is also in talks with the government about procuring automatic passport-screening systems to ease passenger congestion. Meanwhile, plans to have the airports in Tak and Udon Thani managed by Airports of Thailand PCL (AOT) are still afoot, Mr Darun said. Source: Bangkok Post
