Iata Urges Thailand To Delay Airport Opening

[Maejo Man]

Then in the next breath they release this little gem.

Airport 'unlikely to open in July'

Deputy minister finds 'very serious' flaws

AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK

Suvarnabhumi airport is unlikely to open in July, as Transport Minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal earlier said it would, due to time-consuming work and repairs that need to be carried out, according to his deputy Gen Chainant Charoensiri. Gen Chainant guided civil engineers from the Air Force and the Supreme Command at the new Bangkok airport yesterday and he said he could see ''very serious'' problems in the construction thanks to the surprise visit.

He found that 95 out of 102 sheets of roofing fabric on concourse buildings had to be corrected and only two of them had been finished. Of the 95 sheets, 14 must be replaced and the rest repaired.

Staff of ITO Joint Venture, the contractor, reported that the roofing would need at least six months to finish because the fabric would take about three weeks for replacement and a month for repairs, Gen Chainant said.

His delegation also found a number of cracks on the floors of concourse buildings. Water oozed up from them due to the leaking pipes of air-conditioning facilities.

Even after the airport construction is finished, it must still undergo integrated tests to ensure smooth operations.

At present, facilities can only be tested separately. Any immediate operation after only separate tests could lead to problems, he said.

Although airlines need to know the exact opening schedule of the airport, Gen Chainant declined to comment on that yesterday.

At present, all parties are aware that they must finish their work in July to keep their contracts but the government committee supervising the airport project will discuss real construction progress next Tuesday, he said.

Gen Chainant also declined to comment on a report that ITO is seeking the extension of its deadlines for the completion of the new airport by three months.

According to a source at the Transport Ministry, the consortium is seeking the extension to avoid a combined fine of 10 million baht a day in the event it cannot complete the passenger terminal and the concourse buildings at Suvarnabhumi airport in time.

ITO representative Jumpote Kanchanapanyakom said the joint venture would increase its workforce and equipment to finish the construction within June, which its deadline.

However, a source in ITO revealed that many parts of the construction had yet to be done and they were time-consuming.

Airlines are aware of the problem and have not yet entered the airport to establish their facilities. Normally airlines would enter a new airport three months before its opening, the source said

[taxexile]

General Chainan adds that the fracture on the floor of certain buildings would not be a problem and can be easily corrected

The lose face far more by these constant blatant lies and half-truths than they would if they just said there is a delay

amongst thais , those "lies and half truths" are saving his face , the cause of all the delays will be blamed on forces outside his control , i.e. foriegn interference.

[george]

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