Airport expansion opposed

By The Nation
Published on August 12, 2008

The community living near Suvarnabhumi Airport has voiced opposition to Airports of Thailand's expansion plan, saying the company has not yet solved pollution problems that have persisted since its opening nearly two years ago.

Representatives of the community living near Suvarnabhumi Airport voice their opposition yesterday to Airports of Thailand.

At a public hearing yesterday, Wanchart Manathamsombat, a represen¬tative of the community, urged AOT to reconsider Suvarnabhumi Airport's second phase.

Wanchart said that in the past two years, AOT had made no progress in solving the noise pollution caused by the new airport. Despite the estab¬lishment of a tripartite committee, which resolved that AOT must buy back 25 houses affected by aircraft noise, the company has so far bought only 11 houses.

"AOT has always sought amendments to resolutions, while the public is left in difficulty," he said.

He added that by the end of this month, residents near the airport are planning to file lawsuits in the Criminal Court and the Administrative Court against Transport Ministry permanent secretary Chaisawat Kittipornpaibul and Civil Aviation Deparment directorgeneral Chaisak Angkasuwan for alleged negligence. Both officials approved the airport's operating licence without addressing the problem of noise disturbance to the public, he said.

AOT claims it has been waiting for budget allocation for 2009 fiscal year, before proceeding with the plan to buy back land from affected homeowners.

Suvarnabhumi Airport catered to 21 million passengers in the first half of this year, while its annual capacity is 45 million. The planned second phase, involving the investment of tens of billions of baht, entails the con¬struction of a third and a fourth runway to accommodate more traffic.

{literal}

{/literal}

Saha-Union units to shed loss-maker
Saha-Union's two wholly owned subsidiaries in China will sell their shares in Danyang-Union....
Good brands need to be experienced
Doing business nowadays places emphasis on not only product and service development, but also image creation.

{literal} {/literal}

Airport expansion opposed

The community living near Suvarnabhumi Airport has voiced opposition to Airports of Thailand's expansion plan, saying the company has not yet solved pollution problems that have persisted since its opening nearly two years ago.

OTHER BUSINESS

Saha-Union units to shed loss-maker

Good brands need to be experienced

Top Stories