BANGKOK – Concrete will be used for paving the taxiways and airport aprons at Suvarnabhumi International Airport, as detailed in a renovation plan approved since July 2014, says airport chief.
Airports of Thailand’s (AOT) Suvarnabhumi Airport Director Sirote Duangratana has said in response to the suggestions made by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for Suvarnabhumi Airport, to expedite the taxiways and aprons renovation process, that the AOT is currently working on this issue.
IATA’s suggestion calls for the change of taxiways and aprons surface material from asphalt to steel enforced concrete in order to reduce the frequency of required maintenance operations, which has affected the airport’s service capacity.
The airport director disclosed that experts have been hired to study these issues, and identified two factors contributing to deterioration. A combination of the two factors, including high amount of underground water at the airport and the surface material (asphalt), was the source of the problem. The water had softened the asphalt, especially in areas which receive significant weight, particularly at parking aprons and turning points.
To address this issue, Suvarnabhumi Airport is carrying out the renovation process in three phases, involving daily inspection and to immediately fix the affected areas, the resurfacing of taxiways and aprons with better quality asphalt, and the reduction to underground water through the subsurface drainage method.
Operations to improve the airport’s taxiways and aprons had begun since 2014, and has reached 45 percent completion. Renovation works will be completed in 2017, under a total budget of 2.58 billion baht, says Suvarnabhumi Airport director.
