First hearing on Chiang Mai airport revamp held
Airports of Thailand (AoT) held the first public hearing on Monday for its 24-billion-baht, five-year plan to increase the passenger handling capacity at Chiang Mai International Airport to 20 million passengers a year.
The hearing, attended by about 300 local residents, was held at the Centara Riverside Hotel in Chiang Mai. It was led by Piyapong Prapanwattana, director of the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry’s provincial office.
AoT environmental director Suwicha Chimaphan emphasised the need to expand Chiang Mai Airport’s capacity to handle the growing number of visitors to the city and serve as a gateway to the North. He added that the airport’s renovation will be carried out in line with regional and global environmental protection standards.
According to Mr Suwicha, the hearing was organised because some details of the project’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report have been changed.
The hearing was held to present the revised details to the people and allow them to express their opinions, which will help the AoT improve the project’s effectiveness.
He said the feasibility study will last nine months until March of next year.
AoT senior executive vice president for engineering and construction, Paweena Jariyathitipong, said the 24-billion-baht project will take five years to complete and will be modelled on Suvarnabhumi Airport.
According to her, Chiang Mai airport’s international and domestic passenger terminals will be able to handle 13 million passengers and 7 million passengers respectively, and the airport will have 31 aircraft stands once the renovation is completed.
The project’s 24-billion-baht budget is pending approval in addition to the budget for the compensation for environmental impacts the project might cause, said Ms Paweena.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2853967/first-hearing-on-chiang-mai-airport-revamp-held
