Suvarnabhumi Airport, Thailand’s entry point for most travellers, must now expand after only four years of operation to prevent overcrowding.
But the expansion, which will lift the passenger handling capacity of Bangkok's prime airport to 60 million a year, will not be completed until at least 2015, years after overcrowding has set in.
Based on current trends, Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) expects Suvarnabhumi to reach its maximum capacity of 45 million passengers this year.
"It's better late than never," AoT president Serirat Prasutanond told the Bangkok Post, adding that the cabinet's endorsement would help set the expansion in motion.
AoT made its first expansion proposal in late 2007, a year after Suvarnabhumi began operations. It subsequently underwent a series of reviews and revisions amid indecision by authorities and politicians.
The NEB, chaired by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, resolved on Monday that the work involved in the extension of runways to 3,000 metres or more be included among 11 "harmful" activities that will require public hearings and environmental and health impact assessments. Proposals for such projects must be submitted for review by an independent body on health and the environment.
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