Thailand Airports and The High Speed Rail

Highlights:

• Thailand airport is one of the leading aviation hubs in the Asia Pacific region-alongside Singapore, Hong Kong, and Incheon. It is also well placed to be a hub to South East Asia countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam-as their economies develop.
• According to the EEC scheme, the three international airports namely; Suvarnabhumi Airport, Don Mueang Airport, and U-Tapao Airport, will be connected in 2023 to support the country’s economy by high-speed railway.

About Thailand Airport:

The Thailand international and domestic airports are well-connected covers the regions of Thailand. With total 36 airports, seven of them are international airports located in Samutprakarn (Suvarnabhumi Airport), Bangkok (Don Mueang Airport), Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phuket, Hat Yai and Rayong (U-Tapao airport).

Suvarnabhumi Airport (“Soo-wan-na-boom”) is the country’s main international gateway and regional aviation hub in Southeast Asia. Passengers can connect through Bangkok by taking Airport Link or taxi. Currently, the airport services up to 45 million passengers annually.

Due to the airport over capacity, Suvarnabhumi Airport is now in its second phase of expansion which will complete in 2020. Besides, it is also planning to develop the third phrase to support the expected increase in the number of passengers from 45 to 90 million passengers per year.

Don Mueang International Airport is serving international and domestic flights. It was the first Thailand’s national airport but has been replaced by Suvarnabhumi airport.

Chiang Mai International Airport is the gateway to Northern part of Thailand, serving more than 2 million passengers a year from over ten airlines.

Phuket International Airport is one of the busiest airports in Thailand due to the festinating tourist attractions of Phuket and the nearby provinces such as Krabi and Phang Nga provinces in the Southern part of Thailand.

Samui International Airport is the gateway of natural destinations that passengers can relax and enjoy the fantastic atmosphere in the Southern part of Thailand.

U-Tapao International Airport locates in Rayong province in the Eastern part of Thailand. It’s also known as the airport in the Eastern Economic Corridor. This airport location is 45 minutes from Pattaya popular beach destination.

What’s the Next Developments?: The High-Speed Rail Linked Three Airports Project

Due to the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) investment zone, there is a plan to build a 220 km high-speed railway to connect the three major international airports ( Suvarnabhumi Airport, Don Mueang International Airport, and U-Tapao International Airport). The construction will take place in 2019 and complete the project in 2023.

The proposed high-speed rail project will provide connections to five provinces, Bangkok, Samut Prakan, Chachoengsao, Chonburi, and Rayong. The project will have a total of nine high-speed railway stations (speed 250 km/h) and ten city line stations (speed 160 km/h).

• Nine high-speed stations: Don Muang, Bang Sue, Makkasan, Suvarnabhumi, Chachoengsao, Chonburi, Sriracha, Pattaya, and U-Tapao.

High-Speed Rail Implications:

• Government expects the project will support the development of surrounding areas and attract foreign investment to EEC.
• It will generate employment around 16,000 positions during the construction and more than 100,000 positions of the job in the related business in 5 years.
• As the country’s return, the project will contribute to economy amounting of TMB 652,152