Phuket needs to think of second-stage expansion soon



PHUKET: -- Phuket international airport will have to get prepared for the second phase of expansion after the completion of the first phase of expansion project due in the next two years in order to cope with the steady rise of passengers.

Captain Visut Chanthana, deputy director of Phuket international airport, told the media following a panel discussion on the future of the airport that by 2015 which would coincide with the completion of the first stage of expansion project, the Phuket airport would be able to accommodate 12.5 million passengers a year.

Currently, he said that the airport has the capacity to cope with 6.5 million passengers a year but the actual number of passengers using the airport has already gone up to 10.95 million.

Although, the airport will be able to accommodate up to 12.5 million passengers per annum in the next two years after the scheduled of the completion of the expansion project, he said that there was a need to think further and get prepared for the second phase of expansion in light of the steady rise of passengers estimated at 11 percent increase a year.

Phuket international airport is second only to Suvarnabhumi airport as the second highest revenue earner due to increased chartered flights.

The first phase of expansion project costs an estimated five billion baht.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/phuket-needs-think-second-stage-expansion-soon/

-- Thai PBS 2013-11-15

Unless they somehow, somewhere built a second runway, there is no room for a single runway airport to increase capacity

Phuket would be a pefect destination for a high-speed train, but it's nowhere to be found on the map of the Thai government spending over 2 trillion baht on infrastructure projects.

Why is Phuket not linked to the High-Speed-Train? Simple, not a Red-Shirt or Pheu Thai country.

Train running down to the Andaman coast would be a great idea indeed. Tourists love trains. I have always found it a mystery why Trang is the only west coast city which can be reached by train.

Currently, he said that the airport has the capacity to cope with 6.5 million passengers a year but the actual number of passengers using the airport has already gone up to 10.95 million.

Can anybody explain to me how this is possible? I imagine it is some engineering language that I do not have knowledge of. Looking for an actual answer, not jokes or sarcasm. Thank you.