Thailand to Take on Singapore With $5.7 Billion U-Tapao Airport Overhaul

[n210mp]

Put my flak jacket on and steel helmet so I'm ready to be shot at but here goes;

 

The idea of the airport ever being any sort of maintenance hub/base is  just another "diversion" of an  excuse for  lifting Utapao airport  to a size that would be able to take the masses of inveterate gamblers  from China etc  and in that process become a  necessary Maintenance hub.

 

 Utapao is needed to facilitate a quick transfer to that area of land between  Banchang  and Pattaya that will become home to the Las Vegas of South East Asia.

 

The  massive multi billion investment in the roads and infra-structure is another supporting argument for the building of a  Las Vegas Casino site which  Utapao would be perfect for.

 

 

[Thaidream]

I do think casino gambling is in the 'cards' but not in Ban Chang but closer to Jomtien. There is no doubt that U Tapao will expand and for several reasons

-The US has a rising defence budget in the billions and will likely bring money and work to Utapao especially now that Trump is President and wants to rekindle the Thai-US relationship. The Us needs places to do maintenance and park aircraft especially with a deteriorating relationship in the Philippines and a potential war situation in North Korea.

 

- Pattaya is going to redefine its image as a tourist mecca by switching from sin city to the shopping mecca of Asia. There will be more boutique shops; malls; and restaurants which will attract huge numbers of Chinese and other Asians who can fly direct to UTapao with easier access to Pattaya. Throw in some Casino gambling and possibly Western talent like you find in Vegas and high end tourists will come to the area via Utapao- some with private jets.

 

-Rayong has become a huge industrialized base for Thailand and has a large and growing population.  It can also become a preferred area for beaches and entertainment and as such Utapao would be the choice for air travel. In addition, with an ever expanding domestic market and huge population growth- UTapao expansion will also cause a growth in domestic travel.

 

Utapao has a huge amount of land that is available and not in use and is controlled by the Thai Navy with a central government being run by the military.  Expansion will come fast and the funding will be easily available. Look for land prices in the area to increase and small business to expand.

[Thaidream]

The good father may find it funny but I doubt the number of investors and developers who are spending big money on hotels and malls are doing it to lose money.  The government is continually putting pressure on the sex industry to either start policing itself by making it more unobtrusive or simply forcing it to go out of business or relocate.  The real plan for Pattaya is to gentrify it and get rid of the in your face sex business and make it more family friendly.  There is a lot more money in Chinese tourism and bringing middle class Thais and Hi So thais to the resort than single Western tourists who swill beer; get into fights and in some cases cause public relations problems.  Always follow the money..

[Laab Muu]

7 hours ago, kannot said:

would u trust a Thai or Singaporean to service your aircraft?? pretty easy choice

If it was between a Thai and a Malay Singaporean then I would rather the Thai every time.

[kannot]

19 minutes ago, Laab Muu said:

If it was between a Thai and a Malay Singaporean then I would rather the Thai every time.

how about a Malay Thai Chinese Thai?

[Laab Muu]

1 minute ago, kannot said:

how about a Malay Thai Chinese Thai?

Yes, it shows how ridiculously stupid the original comment was.

[PETERTHEEATER]

10 hours ago, MobileContent said:

$5.7 billion - Utapao is owned by the Thai Airforce and more money to be made by the guys in the uniforms. 

 

I don't really know what this has to do with Singapore. The Singapore aircraft maintenance facilities are first class in the world. Thai and Airbus want to setup a center in Bangkok so not sure what Utapao wants to have to do with it. 

U-Tapao is owned by the Royal Thai Navy Air Division.......no love lost between them and the RTAF. Once this new facility is up an running they can refurbish the AV 8 Matadors and put the aircraft carrier back out to sea with a submarine escort.

 

Ahh, I can see it now............

[Thaidream]

And I have been coming to Thailand to include Pattaya for 50 years and have watched it as it grew and grew. I remember when I first came there was one hotel and a few drinking and eating places along beach road. It was pristine.

I, too, have heard all the stories about changes and doing away with the 'trade' and it never happens. This time is different simply because the Central Government is military controlled and so is the Pattaya administration and even when Thailand goes to 'civilian' rule- the military shadow remains.  I actually believe this time is for real because the sex industry is a lose-lose for tourism and not what the majority of targeted tourists want. The Government is doing everything possible to get the industry to either cover up; go out of business and relocate. The Visa rules for single men have been tightened to make it harder and harder to come to Thailand and thus Wester single tourists in Pattaya are declining and will continue to decline.

 

The sex industry is not ever going to go away completely but places like Walking Street and Soi 6 are dinosaurs and the owners of establishments want out  because they see the future.Things change over the years some for the better and some for the worse.

 

By the way, I have no investments in Pattaya or anywhere else only a simple house and family far away from the tourist industry. I am merely a commentator on the subject with no skin in the game

[whatawonderfulday]

Goodness, they can not even maintain the terminal facilities properly let alone planes.  competing with Singapore ? more PM BS

[Redline]

Shouldn't they get their airport house in order first?  As soon as they see that they can't get the quality workforce they need, they will make it work somewhere else.

[maewang99]

Thailand has 5 aerospace programs.... Assumption, Chulalongkorn, King Mongkut, Kasetsart and Suranaree... none specialized.

meanwhile, on the other side of the South China Sea, in the heart of ASEAN...you know... population wise?
  people wise???? 
      young people wise???????

in Manila alone.....  9 aerospace engineering programs....  4 of those schools specialized in aviation only.   

.... where they are building up Clark (former USAF base) for the same thing.

but... there is lots of MRO business... and airline food catering.... to go around for sure... for Thailand and the rest.... but spare us the hub stuff....   

and especially... always leaving out the Philippines from these kind of stories..... unless it is negative news.




 

Edited May 29, 2017 by maewang99

[trainman34014]

9 hours ago, tominbkk said:

They should use that money to improve Swampy.

Why waste money on a sinking airport ?    Swampy will go the same way the City is going....underground !

[tso310]

Well we've been here before. I think it was back in Thaksin's days that when Airbus were looking to base a major facility in Asia that Thailand pushed hard for Khon Kaen. Needless to say Singapore won. Where did Lufthansa Tecknik build one of their major facilities. Manila and now Qantas will use this facility. To quote Luftahnsa Technik

"In April last year (2016), LTP welcomed back AirAsia X as the Malaysian carrier renewed its contract for base maintenance.LTP also carries out base maintenance for Virgin Australia, and for a swag of airline customers spanning the world. They include Philippine Airlines, Austrian, Lufthansa, Air Mauritius, Cathay Pacific, BMI, Air Calin, Jet Airways, Gulf Air, Air Tahiti Nui, Virgin Atlantic, Dragonair, Vladivostok Air, IndiGo, Jetstar, LAN, Air Asia Zest, Kuwait Airways, Asiana Airlines, Swiss, AirBerlin, Solomon Airlines, VietJet Air, Air France and British Airways. "

 

Dream on !

[GR8fun in LOS]

7 hours ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

And to think only a matter of months ago they failed several major international safety audits based on deficiencies with maintenance and inspection routines of aircraft.

Yes have they satisfied the international requirements?

Last I remember there was a threat from at least the US and Europe to prevent planes based or serviced in Thailand from flying into those international regions. There was a lot of Thai bluster but very little action from memory; has that situation changed so that a new "Hub" can be situated here?

[newnative]

5 hours ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

 Priceless. 

 

Had a good old chuckle at that one. 

Guess you haven't driven by the truly massive Terminal 21 under construction.

[newnative]

5 hours ago, Thaidream said:

The good father may find it funny but I doubt the number of investors and developers who are spending big money on hotels and malls are doing it to lose money.  The government is continually putting pressure on the sex industry to either start policing itself by making it more unobtrusive or simply forcing it to go out of business or relocate.  The real plan for Pattaya is to gentrify it and get rid of the in your face sex business and make it more family friendly.  There is a lot more money in Chinese tourism and bringing middle class Thais and Hi So thais to the resort than single Western tourists who swill beer; get into fights and in some cases cause public relations problems.  Always follow the money..

Excellent post.  If you live in central Pattaya like I do you see this already happening. 

[masuk]

23 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

Maybe complimentary to Singapore aerospace maintenance and repair; certainly not 'take on'. Singapore aerospace has almost 35 years of history and has built itself to be the largest and most diverse concentration of aerospace companies in Asia with over 150 aerospace companies. They offer nose to tail services, air frame maintenance up to engine overhaul and avionics system repair and also aircraft conversion. But most importantly, it was supported by the government with the initiatives to alter the education system to focus on science and engineering as well as aerospace R & D.

 

57 B Baht of hardware will not guarantee any success and it need massive government support to churn out skilled manpower.     

Wasn't it built by the USA to take B52s?

[Eric Loh]

1 hour ago, masuk said:

Wasn't it built by the USA to take B52s?

Not sure but I assumed that B52 Stratofortress only saw action during the Vietnam War up to 1973 and Singapore aerospace industry started in the 1980s. You can do the math. Very possible that the B52 were serviced by the Clark Airbase in Philippines. Just my thoughts. 

[DaveE13]

16 hours ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

Having Pattaya suddenly transform into a family friendly 'World-class' destination is a complete fantasy. 

 

Pattaya and Thailand in general simply does not have the infrastructure quality tourists want. 

 

It is a mafia controlled fiefdom that is corrupt and criminal to the very core. That has not and will not ever change regardless of whom is in government.

 

I have seen three military governments now, and nothing ever changed under their watch. 

 

 

I've heard all this fanny before.  Asian tourists don't do the sex trade!?!  Yes right. Who are the biggest buyers of flesh? The Chinese and Koreans are.

Let thaidream do just that and dream.

Never going to be that family destination

[sandmike]

There's a very good post early on in the thread that explains U-Tapao's origins .. 12,000 ft runway for fully laden B-52's plus all the facilities.

I've flown into there and a 737 is dwarfed by the width of the runway.

Take a look on Google earth ..

Carved on slate using Tapatalk

[DaveE13]

13 hours ago, newnative said:

Guess you haven't driven by the truly massive Terminal 21 under construction.

What has a new bloody shopping mall being built got to do with a family destination??  

Honestly some people want to give themselves a slap

[djayz]

On 5/29/2017 at 10:10 AM, spidermike007 said:

 Is there a single, noble and honorable politician in this country? 

There's not a single, noble or honorable politician on the planet... 

[spidermike007]

3 minutes ago, djayz said:

There's not a single, noble or honorable politician on the planet... 

 

You very well might be right about that. I still believe there are some noble politicians at the local, and possibly the state or regional level, that are earnest, and in it for the right reasons. I know a few. I do not know about here in Thailand. I do know one guy who is a in a tambon supervisory post, and he is a very straight arrow. A really good guy. But, at the national level, that all seems to evaporate into a cloud of dust. Too much power, money, influence, lobbying, and thought of the future, at stake it seems. 

 

The same issue seems to exist both here, and in the US. Where are the next group of smart, talented, decent, earnest national politicians going to come from? It seems the offices at that level only seem to attract pond scum. The last noble politicians we saw in the US, I believe were Bill Richardson, and Bill Bradley. And that was quite some time ago. Kucinich seemed like a decent man. Possibly. I like alot of what he had to say. But, the others? Most seemed like $35 hookers. 

 

I just think in the US, the whole system is so broken, so intractably unfixable, that the higher offices do not seem to attract good people. Most especially the office of President. It is such a horrific job, and it takes someone with such megalomaniacal ambitions, not sure how someone decent can fit into that picture anymore. No matter what you think about the policies of Bernie Sanders, I think he is a decent man. And he got run over by a steam locomotive.  

[newnative]

7 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

Not sure but I assumed that B52 Stratofortress only saw action during the Vietnam War up to 1973 and Singapore aerospace industry started in the 1980s. You can do the math. Very possible that the B52 were serviced by the Clark Airbase in Philippines. Just my thoughts. 

B52s are still flying and plans are to keep them flying until they are about 100 years old.

[newnative]

7 hours ago, DaveE13 said:

What has a new bloody shopping mall being built got to do with a family destination??  

Honestly some people want to give themselves a slap

A lot, actually.  You may be the one who needs a slap.   Who's going to fill Terminal 21?  Not single men here for sex.  Who keeps Floating Market floating?  Not single men here for sex.  Same with Cartoon Network and Ramayama Waterparks, the new D'Luck Theater, the Art Illusion place, and all the other family attractions that have opened in the past few years.  Ditto for all the big and small new hotels and condos that have been built and are being built. Of course, it goes without saying that something like Terminal 21 makes Pattaya even more appealing to expats looking for a warm place with amenities/attractions to hang their hats.  And, even more Bangkokians will decide Pattaya is where they want their weekend getaway place.   But, there's no reason Pattaya can't be a resort destination for both party guys and families--it already is.

[gk10002000]

Oh god please no. The Thai mentality would never support what a facility would need. Long term record keeping, thorough work.  Never mind building up the infrastructure.  They might get a bunch of money to start the build up then nothing  good would come of it.