The cabinet approved a $9 billion bid to build an airport in its southeastern coast of Thailand, according to reports in the media.
BBS consortium, which comprises Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction, Bangkok Airways, and BTS Group Holdings won the bid.
BBS consortium will develop the Eastern Airport City Project at U-tapao, said deputy government spokeswoman Ratchada Thanadirek.
The government further revealed that the BBS consortium offered the best returns, hence it was handed a 50-year contract. Once the contract expires, the state will take over all the assets.
Located near resort town Pattaya, U Tapao airport is one of the infrastructure centerpieces for Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), which is an ambitious $53.8-billion scheme seeking to attract investment from the auto and tech industries.
Reportedly, Narita International Airport Corporation will be hired to run the operation and the new airport is estimated to create around 15,600 jobs in Thailand.
According to Ratchada Thanadirek, the Eastern Special Development Zone Policy Committee and the BBS consortium is tentatively scheduled to sign an agreement on June 19 at Government House.
The project is expected to be completed by 2023.
The Central Bankruptcy Court in Bangkok has accepted Thai Airways’ bankruptcy petition, according to reports in the media. The whole process of its debt rehabilitation is expected to take up to five years.
Thai Airways became the first airline in the Southeast Asia region to file for bankruptcy after the coronavirus pandemic hit the aviation sector worldwide.
Earlier this month, media houses reported that the Thai government has decided to restructure the troubled carrier as per the bankruptcy act. The carrier has accumulated a debt moratorium of ฿200 billion over the years.