AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTHEAST ASIA CASE STUDY OF MALAYSIA AND THAILAND

Transcription

1 484 AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTHEAST ASIA CASE STUDY OF MALAYSIA AND THAILAND Mohamed Rehan KARIM Professor & Head Civil Engineering Department University of Malaya Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Fax: Sorawit NARUPITI Assistant Professor Civil Engineering Department Chulalongkorn University Phayathai Road, Patumwan, Bangkok Thailand Fax: Danang PARIKESIT Chairman Board of Researchers Centre for Transportation and Logistics Studies, Gadjah Mada University Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia Fax: Berlian KUSHARI Lecturer & Research Associate Faculty of Civil Eng. and Planning, Islamic University of Indonesia Yogyakarta 55584, Indonesia Fax Abstract: The issue of competition between airports in the region to be the regional aviation hub would be addressed particularly in relation to access capacity and the spirit of ASEAN cooperation in the air transport sector. The allocation of resources towards achieving this aim has been rather significant and alternative strategies and policies that would bring about greater benefit to the whole region and hence to each member country within ASEAN are discussed and proposed. The common strategies that would allow greater mobility between the countries in Southeast Asia through air travel are found to be more appropriate in the context of the ASEAN cooperation and the sharing of the expected growth in tourists visiting the region amongst the neighbouring countries could be easily realised. Based on the analysis of the airport developments in the two countries and the region in general, suggestions on appropriate policies that could be considered for implementation by the relevant authorities are presented. Key Words: mobility, airport, ASEAN, tourists, aviation hub 1. INTRODUCTION The Southeast Asia region has been described as one of the most dynamic regions in the world based on the performances of the economies and growth experienced over the last couple of years. The increased economic activities and flows of capital have resulted in greater demand for movement of people and goods within and vis-à-vis the region. Tourism statistics for countries in this region indicate that there has been a continuing rise in tourists visiting destinations in different parts of the region. These phenomena amongst others have contributed towards the increase in air travel in the region as reflected by the air transport statistics for the past few years and this upward trend in air transport demand in the region is expected to continue for many years to come in the future. As a consequence of the anticipated growth in future air travel demand in this region governments of the respective countries have embarked upon policies to improve their air transport infrastructure in order to adequately cater for the expected demand. As part of the efforts to manage the future growth,

2 485 several countries have also proposed to be the hub for air travel in the region. This paper aims to discuss the current trend in air travel demand in the Southeast Asia region and the response of the respective countries in terms of airport developments to meet the future growth in demand. Although the analysis would broadly cover the region as a whole, a specific case study on Malaysia and Thailand would be presented. The policies currently adopted by the respective agencies in the two countries with respect to airport development will be discussed particularly in the context of the current and future air travel demand in the region. Emphasis will be made on evaluating the implementation and performance of the main international airport projects in the two countries, namely the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia and the Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok. 2. GLOBAL PASSENGER PROSPECTS Globally, IATA s passenger forecast shows an air passenger market struggling to overcome the effects of the global economic downturn and September 11 th 2001 terror attack of the WTC in New York. The special interim forecast released by IATA in January 2002 to gauge first impressions of September 11th projected a small increase in 2002 traffic following the sharp downturn in 2001 passenger traffic volumes (IATA, 2002). Recovery is expected in 2003, with a bounce-back increase of 7.4% in scheduled international traffic. Thereafter, growth is projected to return to more traditional levels of 4%- 5% per annum. The result is an annual average growth rate (AAGR) of 4.3% for , a 0.8 point improvement on the special interim AAGR but still 0.4 points below the pre-september 11th AAGR. The 5%-plus AAGRs seen in the , and forecasts are but a distant memory of the US economic boom (IATA, 2002). As with the international market, a bounce-back is anticipated in 2003 for scheduled domestic passenger traffic before a return to more traditional levels of growth in the period The AAGR of 2.8% is very much on par with the pre-september 11th AAGR formulated by IATA. The total scheduled passenger traffic is expected to recover to produce a AAGR of 3.3% (IATA, 2002). The biggest threats to these forecasts are the prospect of military conflict in the Middle East and the outbreak of war on Iraq by the US as well as a continuation of the general fear of terrorists attacks could have a very negative impact on short-term passenger confidence levels. In the longer term, the AAGR for scheduled international passenger growth over the period is expected to be 4.0%. Based on ICAO figures, the number of international passengers is forecast by IATA to reach 971m by 2016, an increase of 315m passengers over the ten year forecast period. As indicated in Table 1, the estimated growth in air travel between Europe and the Far East as well as within the Far East is rather encouraging.

3 486 Table 1. Global Passenger Forecast Summary Annual Growth Rate (%) AAGR TOTAL INTERNATIONAL North Atlantic Trans-Pacific Europe-Far East Europe-Middle East Europe-Africa Far East-South Pacific North America-South America Within Europe Within Far East Within South America TOTAL DOMESTIC TOTAL (Source : IATA, 2002) 3. OVERVIEW OF TOURISTS ARRIVALS IN MALAYSIA There has been a steady increase of international visitors to the ASEAN region over the past decade as shown in Figure 1. This has greatly contributed to the high demand for air travel to this region and consequently the need to provide adequate infrastructure and facilities to cater for them. For the case of Malaysia, in 2001 the country received RM24,221.5 million from 12,775,073 tourists who came to visit. This represents an increase of 39.7% from RM17,335.4 million recorded in year Arrivals from ASEAN countries contributed a total of RM14,580.3 million, an increase of 52% from RM9,593.2 million received in The non- ASEAN markets contributed RM9,641.4 in 2001, an increase of 24.5% from RM million generated in the previous year (Tourism Malaysia, 1998; Tourism Malaysia, 2001). The main share of tourists coming to Malaysia comes from the ASEAN countries (72%) with Singapore being the highest contributor with 48% of the total tourist receipts in Tourists from ASEAN rose from 7,182,452 in 2000 to 9,179,797 the following year, an increase of 28%. The majority of tourists visited Malaysia for vacation constituting up to 57.5%. Those coming for business constitute 26% and those visiting friends and relatives (VFR) constitute 9.1%. About 38.1% of tourists came alone during their visit to Malaysia while 19.1% came along with their spouses. The most popular activity engaged by tourists was sightseeing followed by shopping, visiting beaches and the countryside.

4 487 International Visitor Arrivals in ASEAN Arrivals 40,000,000 35,000,000 30,000,000 25,000,000 20,000,000 15,000,000 10,000,000 20,213,942 21,771,581 23,465,426 25,278,317 29,669,071 30,932,853 31,048,739 29,733,004 33,868,394 37,813,511 5,000, Year Source: ASEAN National Tourism Organization (ASEAN NTOs), unless otherwise indicated. Figure 1. International Visitor Arrivals in ASEAN Tourists Arrivals and Receipts in Malaysia 14,000, Tourists Arrival 12,000,000 10,000,000 8,000,000 6,000,000 4,000,000 2,000,000 - Tourist Arrivals Tourists Receipts Tourists Receipts (Billion RM) Figure 2. Tourists Arrivals and Receipts in Malaysia

5 488 Tourists Arrivals in Malaysia Total Others ASEAN - 2,000,000 4,000,000 6,000,000 8,000,000 10,000,000 12,000,000 14,000,000 Figure 3. Tourists Arrivals From ASEAN Countries Tourists Share and Growth % 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 72% 28% ASEAN Share (2001) Grow th 2001/ % 18% Others Figure 4. Growth and Share of ASEAN Tourists 4. AIR TRANSPORTATION POLICY The availability of a safe and efficient civil air transport system is of utmost importance for the purpose of serving the national interest of the country, including the growth and development of tourism. The Ministry of Transport through its Aviation Division is responsible for establishing and implementing Malaysia's aviation policy. The present civil aviation policy of Malaysia is adequate in terms of structure and capability to foster and assist in the development of a strong international and domestic tourism sector. At present Malaysia follows a liberal policy in granting authority to foreign airlines engaged in scheduled air service. In brief, this policy is structured to the effect that any airline desiring to provide service to Malaysia can do so in keeping with the bilateral process. The Aviation Division is adequately structured and staffed with personnel capable of implementing Malaysia's air policy. The development of air transportation in Malaysia, for all purposes, has occurred pursuant to the provisions of the Civil Aviation Act 1969 and the regulations promulgated there under, including the principles enunciated at the Chicago Convention of 1944 on International Civil Aviation.

6 489 In the field of international air transport, Malaysia, like other countries, has employed the bilateral process which permits each nation to take advantage of the traffic potential of the points granted in each country. Usually, each nation advocates the double tracking doctrine and attempts to provide a fair and equal opportunity to share in the market for the air carriers of each of the contracting parties. Malaysia has used this bilateral process effectively to establish a national airline of international importance, to obtain major international routings for its national airline and to develop international air service to Malaysia by air carriers of other nations. Along with international route development, the finance has been available for the national carrier to expand and continually modernise its fleet of airplanes and there by carry out a continuing programme of expansion. 4.1 Current Strategy and Plans The main strategy and program in the air transport sector is directed on achieving the following objectives (MOT Malaysia, 2002): To establish a system and network of international airports that are comprehensive, modern and up to international standards; To establish a system and network of domestic airports that will increase mobility and encourage the growth of local economy; To adopt a liberal policy on international air transport based on the concept of open sky with other countries; To ensure that domestic air travel services are being provided based on local demand to fulfill the needs of the tourism and trade industries as well as to satisfy socioeconomic goals; To ensure the air traffic control and management services are efficient and safe; and To strive to make the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) as an aviation hub for both passengers and cargo. There are a number of projects that have been planned (and some are currently being implemented) for the 8 th Malaysia Plan ( ) as far as the air transport sector is concerned. Amongst the main projects proposed include the following: Upgrading of the domestic airport in Alor Setar, Kedah to accommodate bigger passenger aircrafts instead of the current B737s. This involves lengthening and widening of the runway and also a new terminal building. Construction of a new terminal building at the Kota Bharu domestic airport. Construction of a new airport at Bintulu, Sarawak to accommodate the largest passenger aircrafts currently in use. This new airport has just recently been completed and opened in December Upgrading of domestic airports in Miri and Sibu in Sarawak to accommodate larger aircrafts such as the Airbus. Construction of a new airport in Limbang, Sarawak to accommodate small aircrafts such as the Fokker 50. Construction and upgrading of a number of landing strips for recreational and tourist purposes, especially in the more rural areas.

7 Domestic Air Services Currently, there are three domestic airlines operating on the domestic routes, namely the Malaysia Airlines (MAS), Air Asia and Berjaya Air. These airlines operate on designated routes approved by the government on regular schedule. Another airline, Transmile Air has also been given the license to provide cargo services on domestic routes. The rates for domestic airfares are subjected to the approval of the government. At the moment, the domestic airfares are amongst the lowest in the region even though the government has recently approved an increase of 51.8% in domestic airfares for Peninsula Malaysia. On the average the domestic air fare for Malaysia is 49 sen/km as compared to Indonesia (95.6 sen/km), Philippines (52.5 sen/km) and Vietnam (84.4 sen/km). In addition, the government has also given aviation permits to 18 aviation companies to operate general aviation services using small aircrafts and helicopters. The services provided by these companies include rentals of aircrafts, aerial photography, cloud seeding, aerial survey, aerial spraying, oil exploration offshore logistics support and others. 4.3 International Air Services The Governmental policy that lays the foundation for a civil air transport system need to consider allowing liberal international access to the country and to allow competition among international airlines to stimulate the tourist source markets and assure sufficient domestic air services to permit tourists ready access to various parts of the country. The successful development of international air services depends on the ability for airlines to fly commercially between countries and the availability of adequate airports to support and service the flights. Once these are in place, the operational and marketing aspects of air transportation can be undertaken without undue complication. The Malaysia Airline System (MAS), the national airline, provides international air services to various international destinations based on the landing rights accorded under the bilateral air services agreement. The Ministry of Transport (MOT) is responsible to obtain the routes and landing rights through negotiations and agreements with the relevant foreign governments. The bilateral air services agreement specify the routes and the frequency of air services that can be allowed for airlines from both countries. With respect to fares for international routings, these are generally approved pursuant to International Air Transport Association (IATA) regulations and practices. Malaysia has always adopted the liberal open sky policy in negotiations on air services with foreign countries for the purpose of giving the freedom and flexibility for the foreign airlines to operate their services. The aim is to give incentives for foreign airlines to operate at the international airports in the country. Nevertheless, not all countries adopted the liberal open sky policy. At the moment, Malaysia has the open sky agreements with the United States, New Zealand, the Scandinavian countries, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Austria and Taiwan. Although currently Malaysia has 81 air services agreements with foreign countries only 41 foreign airlines use the right to operate in the country. The national carrier, MAS currently has air services to 78 international destinations, 19 of which are on code-sharing basis.

8 MALAYSIAN AIRPORTS There are currently 5 international airports operating in the country, namely the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), Penang, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu and Langkawi airports. All these airports are able to accommodate the largest commercial aircrafts currently in use. In addition, there are 17 domestic airports and 15 rural airstrips in the rural areas mainly in Sabah and Sarawak. Although the airports in Malaysia has been privatised and operated by the Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB), the government is still directly involved in the development and financing of the airports. There has been a gradual increase in number of passengers handled by all international airports in Malaysia since the early nineties till around A slight drop in passengers were observed in 1998 when the new Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) started operations in June 1998 and the then Subang International Airport began to cease most of its international flight operations. It may not have been very easy to maintain a smooth switch between Subang and KLIA since the two locations is quite some distance apart. In the beginning, the KLIA was meant to handle all international flights while the Subang airport still maintains the domestic flights. This may have been a factor that affects the passenger demand since direct connections are not available at either airport for those intending to change between international and domestic flights. Nevertheless, the total passengers handled by Malaysian airports began to rise in 1999 onwards especially when the KLIA began to receive greater patronage from foreign airlines. Despite the slowdown in air travel after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the US and the October 2002 bombing on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, there is a significant growth in passenger traffic at the KLIA. In 2001 the passenger traffic at KLIA totaled around million which is slightly higher than the year before. In 2002 the passenger volume grew by an encouraging double digit growth of 12.3% to million. According to the MAHB the growth was probably achieved through the company s relentless efforts to woo airlines to fly into Kuala Lumpur and its commitment to operational service excellence coupled with attractive airport charges. Table 2. Total Passengers Handled by Airports, Malaysia, (ExcludingTransit Passengers) Airports Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) 6,377,290 12,799,711 14,352,848 K.Lumpur 7,521,282 8,843,558 9,803,856 10,726,468 11,343,648 12,544,729 14,314,547 15,819,863 8,129,104 1,999,302 2,100,727 (Subang) Pulau 1,889,564 2,175,706 2,508,718 2,671,395 2,654,485 2,735,604 2,849,399 2,907,033 2,392,823 2,451,352 2,681,718 Pinang Kota 1,749,551 1,819,236 1,898,569 1,796,153 2,096,241 2,410,807 2,478,558 2,732,146 2,259,438 2,629,788 2,969,639 Kinabalu Kuching 1,456,035 1,683,617 1,696,163 1,783,553 1,890,855 2,067,252 2,163,562 2,257,214 1,940,737 2,174,348 2,482,601 Langkawi 165, , , , , , , , , , ,293 Johor Baharu 514, , , , , , ,729 1,081, , , ,843 Total 13,296,502 15,465,820 17,209,926 18,504,844 19,566,683 21,511,084 23,590,336 25,637,001 22,645,958 23,695,354 26,518,669 (Source: MOT Malaysia, 2000)

9 492 Passengers Handled By International Airports Passengers (excluding transit) 30,000,000 25,000,000 20,000,000 15,000,000 10,000,000 5,000,000 - KLIA Subang Penang Total Year Figure 5. Passengers Handled By International Airports in Malaysia In a more regional context, while the KLIA achieved double digit growth Singapore s Changi airport only reported a modest 2.9% passenger traffic growth rate to million for year The growth in passenger traffic at the KLIA seems to indicate the resilience of the Malaysian market demand for air travel and the increased popularity of KLIA as a preferred airport in this region. In the year 2001 there were 52 airlines operating at KLIA, not including personal airline and military aircrafts (DCA Malaysia, 2001). The total aircraft movements were 113,552 in which 38% are domestic flights while 62% are international flights. The average monthly aircraft movements showed an increase of 3.45% to 9,463 as compared to 9,147 in the year In the year 2002 the MAHB managed to get five new airlines to fly into KLIA and many more existing airlines to increase their frequencies. This was a good indication that KLIA was fast becoming an airport of choice to various airlines. The five new airlines are the Yemenia/ Yemen Airways, Kuwait Airways, Air Macau, Orient Thai and Kyrgyz International Airlines. The existing airlines that increased frequencies in 2002 were Emirates, Qatar Airways, Korean Air, Iran Air, Cathay Pacific, Saudi Arabian Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Air Mauritius, Sri Lanka Airways, Eva Airways, Cargolux Airlines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Lauda Air and Vietnam Airways. The local airlines, MAS and Air Asia also increased their frequencies in that year. 6. THE KUALA LUMPUR INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (KLIA) The KLIA was officially opened on 27 th June 1998 (DCA Malaysia, 2001) and in line with the government s aspiration to make KLIA an aviation hub a special committee known as the KLIA hubbing Committee was established in the Ministry of Transport. Amongst the main focus of this committee is as follows: To ensure that KLIA achieves an excellent international service standard provided to airlines and passengers. A high efficiency level need to be achieved, for example, the

10 493 first passenger alighting from the satellite terminal should receive the baggage within 25 minutes after arrival. To increase frequency of international air services into KLIA and establish more connectivity with major international destinations. To provide incentives to attract foreign airlines to operate or increase services to KLIA. For example, to provide exemption on landing charges for a 5 years period. To effectively promote and market KLIA by the respective agencies such as MAS, MAHB, and Tourism Board. To transfer all scheduled jet operations from the former Subang International airport to KLIA by July The KLIA has been designed to be a regional hub with features that allow flexibility for future expansion. The whole development of the KLIA has been planned to undergo three phases of implementation to cope with the future air traffic demand up to the year 2020 and beyond. The planning and development of the new Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at Sepang, Malaysia, began in early 1990 when it became evident that the existing Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah International Airport (formerly Subang International Airport) had limited expansion capability to meet the long-term increase in passenger and cargo demand. The government therefore decided to build a new airport at an alternative site to accommodate not only the rapid increase in air transport, but also to meet the growing demand of the tourism and services sector (Airport Technology, 1999). 6.1 Phase 1 ( ) Covering 100km² of land, the KLIA was completed in four and a half years with round-theclock construction work (making it the fastest airport ever built), undertaken by an international workforce of 25,000 people at a cost of about USD$3.5 billion. The facility commenced full commercial operations in June Phase 1 required the construction of facilities capable of handling up to 25 million passengers. The major facilities included two 4.0 km parallel runways (4000m x 60m) and a mega terminal building with a satellite and 83 aircraft stands (contact and remote). Sixty contact piers, 20 remote parking bays with 80 aircraft parking positions, one mega terminal, one satellite, two runways and other facilities are available to accommodate the throughput of 25 million passengers per year. The runways are on a staggered configuration 2,535m apart to allow for simultaneous operation. Equipped with category II navigational and lighting aids, they are complemented by a taxiway system for the efficient and expeditious flow of aircraft on the ground. The terminal building is designated for expansion in the next two phases. All domestic, Singapore and mixed flights are served from a pier connected to the main terminal, while all other international flights are served by a four-armed satellite building located in the main parking apron. An automated people-mover shuttle system links the terminal and the satellite building. This system is designed for a maximum waiting time of five minutes.

11 Phase 2 ( ) And Phase 3 (2008 Beyond) Phase 2 will further expand the facility to be able to handle 35 million passengers per year by Further planned expansion will enable the airport to handle up to 45 million passengers per year by There is sufficient land and capacity to develop facilities to handle up to 100 million passengers per year, including four runways by 2020 and two mega terminals, each with two linked satellite buildings. Once all three phases are developed, the airport's surroundings will include hiking trails for jet-lagged travellers, golf courses, a theme park, a shopping centre, hotels, a wetlands nature preserve and a Formula 1 race track that has already hosted the first F1 race in The 241,000m² main terminal building houses customs and immigration counters, duty free and retail outlets and restaurants. The steel, timber-like ceiling is held up by conical pillars and flanked by shiny granite floors, large glass-paned walls and numerous check-in counters. KLIA Berhad is the airport's project developer, while Malaysia Airports Berhad (MAB) is the airport operator (Airport Technology, 1999). 6.3 Total Airport Management System (TAMS) The Total Airport Management System (TAMS) applies advanced Information Technology (IT) concepts and equipment to help make KLIA an important aviation hub in the region. Integration of numerous modern airport systems through TAMS provides unprecedented levels of service, safety and comfort to the traveling public. This, in turn, will hopefully contribute to help bring more tourists and business to Malaysia. This integration also supports the business goals of providing an efficient, cost effective operation of KLIA. As both a primary node on the Multimedia Super Corridor and as the precursor to the next generation of airports in Malaysia, KLIA will demonstrate advanced airport technologies and be a model for future IT enterprise solutions for Malaysia. Intelligent airport systems will come on line as technologies mature. 6.4 Ground Transportation The KLIA may be accessed by both road and rail transportation. A network of highways and major roads connect the airport to the city of Kuala Lumpur as well as the new administrative center Putrajaya. Taxis, limousines, buses and airport coaches are available for those who prefer them. A new high-speed rail-based transport mode called the KLIA Ekspres is another option, particularly for those wanting to get to the capital city of Kuala Lumpur in the shortest time possible. It provides direct connection between the KLIA and the KL City Air Terminal (KL CAT) at KL Sentral. The KL CAT is the extension of the KLIA in the city and is officially recognised by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) as a city destination with the code XKL. The travel time is only 28 minutes and is the fastest way between the airport and the city. Passengers flying with MAS may check-in their luggage at KL CAT and they will also receive their boarding pass. MAS offers early check-in for same-day flights and as such one can

12 495 check in their luggage in the morning for a night flight and enjoy a day of sightseeing and shopping or attend to business without being weighed down. 7. AIR TRANSPORT DEVELOPMENT IN THAILAND There are 29 commercial airports that are currently operating in Thailand. The commercial airports consist of: Bangkok International Airport, which has its capacity to accommodate 33 million passengers/year; 6 Regional Airports - Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Hat Yai, Phuket and U-Tapao which can accommodate 12 million passengers/year; 21 Provincial Airports; and 2 Private Airports Sukhothai and Koh Samui. With the number of passengers reaching nearly 30 million last year, Don Muang Airport, or Bangkok International, the biggest airport in Thailand, was expected to complete its expansion plan to be able to accommodate up to 36 million passengers in However, it is certain that in the next few years Don Muang will be too small to handle the passenger load, which increases every year (PRD Thailand, 2002). For this reason, amongst others, a new Bangkok airport is needed to cater for future air traffic demand. The new Suvarnabhumi airport due to be completed in 2004 is located in the Samut Prakarn province of Thailand, approx. 30km east of Bangkok. Construction of the Second Bangkok International Airport (SBIA) began on 9 November 2001 and is expected to be completed by December 2004 although necessary testing means that the official opening date may probably be in August Once completed, Suvarnabhumi will replace Don Muang as Bangkok's international airport, relegating the latter to domestic-only status. Don Muang is currently the world's 22nd busiest airport and the busiest in Southeast Asia but it has already reached its full capacity at 30 million passengers per annum. Suvarnabhumi eventually will be able to cope with 100 million passengers per year and will have four runways with which to do this (Airport Technology, 2002). By 2010 all phases should be ready, giving Suvannabhumi Airport the capacity to handle 112 flights per hour and 100 million passengers a year. The control tower of Suvannabhumi Airport will be the tallest control tower in the world, slightly taller than the one at Kuala Lumpur. Runways and flight bridges are being built to accommodate the new giant Airbus planes. There are 12,000 spaces for car parking, and eight lanes for cars and eight lanes for buses, arriving and departing. A station for a skytrain and subway is also being built and will be ready to operate as soon as there are companies to run the services. 7.1 Airport Facilities And Capacity The Suvannabhumi Airport is designed to handle 100 million passengers per year but the first stage of construction will only provide facilities for 30 million passengers annually. Operating as many as 76 flights per hour on two simultaneous runways it will have 51 aircraft stands and 69 remote parking bays for wide-bodied aircrafts and handle over 1.46 million tons of cargo annually. Facilities to be completed in the first stage include: 563,000m² passenger terminal

13 496 Two parallel runways, each 60m wide and 3,700m long with a runway separation distance of 2,200m Aircraft stands: 51 contact gates, 69 remote parkings 132m air traffic control tower Two parking garages with a capacity for 5,000 cars 190,000m² cargo terminal Aircraft maintenance facilities: four fully equipped aircraft hangars to service up to 12 aircrafts simultaneously Three separate catering facilities to cater for 65,000 airlines meals per day Landside road system: 2x2 lane roads inside the airport with the total length of 36km Utility system: 40,000cm³ water tank; water treatment system for 12,000cm³ of water per day; main transformer station for transforming electricity from 115kV to 24kV; eight garbage collection stations; telephone system of seven telephone exchanges and two main exchanges Electrical railway system: a future extension will swiftly transport passengers to and from central Bangkok First-class hotel with 1,500 rooms Express freight facilities: one warehouse, one office building, 12 aircraft stands 7.2 Passenger Terminal Complex The passenger terminal complex was designed to cover an area of 182,000m². Seven floors and a basement will give the terminal a total floor area of over 500,000m² making it the largest in the world. An innovative roof trellis, designed to shade the building against intense tropical sun and reduce the cost of air conditioning the structure, will also be the largest of its kind. The domestic and international halls are clearly separated with the second floor as a dedicated arrival hall and the fourth floor as a departure hall. The structure's main materials are steel and glass. The original design for the new terminal was criticised by Thai architects over a lack of 'Thai characteristics'. The government responded by forming a special committee to ensure that these concerns were addressed and that the building displayed evidence of the local cultural and artistic heritage. The concourse, with an area of 381,000m² is 40m wide, 3,213m long and 25m high. Its main structure is made of steel. Enclosure materials are locally manufactured glass and teflon coated fabric (Airport Technology, 2002). 7.3 Airport Access Road access to the new airport will be provided by a series of new highways connected to Bangkok's existing outer ring road. The main access road is an elevated 2x5 lane road that leads from the passenger terminal through the northern part of the site to the new Bangkok- Chonburi highway. Other access roads include: South Access Road, a 2x4 lane road linking Bang Na-Bang Pakong Highway and Bang Na-Chonburi Expressway Northeast Access Road, a 2x2 lane leading to On Nut Road West Access Road, a 2x2 lane connecting the King Kaew Road

14 497 Northwest Access Road, a 2x3 lane road linking Rom Klao elevated road and King Kaew Flyover There are proposed plans to extend the Skytrain from On Nut to the new airport but nothing has been decided thus far probably because the current Skytrain is having trouble reaching its target passenger figures (Airport Technology, 2002). 8. CONCLUDING REMARKS The South-East Asia region is experiencing an upsurge of airport development in anticipation of catering for the expected increase of air travel in the region. The current major airports in the region such as the Changi airport in Singapore and the Don Muang airport in Bangkok are almost reaching their capacity. Though there has already been plans to expand the Changi airport to accommodate another terminal this has however been put on hold due partly to the recent economic situation and the uncertainty on air travel demand. On the other hand, the Don Muang airport which is the busiest in the region would not be able to accommodate the expected growth in air travel and consequently the new Suvarnabhumi airport is being constructed. As discussed earlier, the KLIA airport in Kuala Lumpur has also been experiencing very encouraging growth in these early years since it began operations and it has the capacity to accommodate the expected future growth in air traffic quite easily. The infrastructure and facilities available at these three major airports in the region, namely, the Suvarnabhumi (when completed in 2004), Changi and KLIA are of the highest international standards and capable of providing the best services required thereof. Any or all of the three airports could be the main gateway(s) to this region. It is therefore quite understandable that each of the three airports would vie to be the regional aviation hub for the obvious reasons. However, it may not be impossible to consider strategies on how to cooperate among them and also amongst the other regional airports within the ASEAN region. The growth in the tourism industry within the region needs to be tapped through a series of strategies including the adequate provision of air transport services linking the main gateways to each ASEAN member country to the actual tourist destinations in each country. The removal of impediments to the free movement between countries in the region would be advantageous not only to the travelers but also to the growth of the air transport sector in each country. Relaxation on the requirement for visa on travelers from within the region would definitely be seen as a positive step towards encouraging freer movement within the region. Such a situation may be capitalised for the common good by having well coordinated policies and strategies for establishing more direct linkages for airlines to provide services between the major airports in the region as well as between the regional airports in different countries. There are various types of cooperative agreements (SEATAC, 1982) and options available to airlines which could be ventured into for mutual benefit ranging from maintenance and equipment pools to capacity sharing and joint operations. The concentration of resources on developing the main airports in each member country of ASEAN to become the aviation hub for the region may lead to an over supply that far exceed the actual demand, at least for those major airports that fail to attract enough patronage from the international airlines to use them as regional hubs. What could probably be a more important strategy (especially when there are constraints on financial resources) is to provide greater mobility and accessibility via air transport modes to those locations that could be

15 498 further developed into tourist destinations as well as regional centers for commerce or other concerns. The major airports would still remain as the main gateway to each country while the other regional airports in each country would have adequate facilities to cater for higher air passenger demand. Perhaps policies could be formulated to allow for airlines to make direct linkages between regional airports in different countries in the ASEAN region in order to further enhance the mobility in the region as well as reducing the overall travel time for air travelers to get to the final destinations. This could be possible in the context of realising the spirit of ASEAN cooperation in the tourism and air transport sectors. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors wish to thank the AUN/SEED-Net project for the funding for this research. The authors would also wish to express their thanks to the officers at the Ministry of Transport Malaysia as well as other relevant agencies that have helped in this research in one way or another. REFERENCES Airport Technology (1999) Kuala Lumpur International Airport Three Phase Expansion, Malaysia, Airport Technology (2002) Suvarnabhumi Airport Bangkok, Thailand, DCA Malaysia (2001) Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) and KLIA Yearly Report 2001, Department of Civil Aviation Malaysia. IATA (2002) IATA Monthly International Statistics (MIS), 2002, IATA MOT Malaysia (2000) Transport Statistics Malaysia 2000, Ministry of Transport Malaysia MOT Malaysia (2002) Transport Ministry Project Brief, May 2002, Ministry of Transport, Malaysia. PRD Thailand (2002) Focus on Thailand Suvarnabhumi Airport, SEATAC (1982) Inter and Intra ASEAN Air Passenger Traffic Study (SEATAC/ASEAN COTAC RA-5), April Tourism Malaysia (2001) Profile of Tourists by Selected Markets 2001, Tourism Malaysia. Tourism Malaysia (1998) Annual Tourism Statistical Report 1998, Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board Malaysia.