Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) is soliciting interest from private players for their participation in the development of the proposed Phuket International Airport City. The facility is spread across 24,000 square metres and is currently in use as an outdoor car parking area. The project is a part of AoT’s push to transform areas within six airports under its purview into commercial zones to generate extra revenue and lessen its dependence on earnings from aeronautical operations. Phuket airport was chosen as one of the three initial sites, in addition to Suvarnabhumi in Samut Prakan and Don Mueang in Bangkok, because of its heavy passenger traffic. Phuket is the country’s third-busiest airport, with an expected handling of nearly 12 million passengers in 2014. Besides, the facility is undergoing a 5.7 billion baht expansion at present, which is scheduled for completion by 2015. Post-expansion works, Phuket airport’s passenger handling capacity will reach 12.5 mppa.
