AoT to invest $154m at Phuket airport

Nicole Mezzasalma

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The airport authority’s plans include a new international passenger terminal and an upgrade of the domestic terminal

Airports of Thailand (AoT) has announced plans for a Bt5bn ($154m) upgrade of Phuket International airport, according to The Bangkok Post newspaper. The expansion will include the construction of a new international passenger terminal and the upgrade of the domestic terminal and will increase the airport’s capacity to 11.5m passengers a year from the current annual limit of 6.5m.

AoT said it projects a 9.5% growth in passenger numbers this year to 6m. Nearly 5.5m travellers passed through Phuket airport in 2007, an increase of 22.6% compared with the previous year.

The airport authority expects construction works to begin in 2010. King Power International Group (Thailand) operates the duty-free space at Phuket.