Alfmaz Posted December 25, 2006 Report Share Posted December 25, 2006 Parts of Suvarnabhumi maybe closed down â??Deputy Transport Minister Sansern Wongcha-um said yesterday that following a recent report on the problems facing Suvarnabhumi airport, it was likely that part of the new facility would have to be closed and Don Muang airport would pick up the slack.â? I like the old Airport traveled itâ??s corridors for many years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 25, 2006 Report Share Posted December 25, 2006 What problems? Report?? I appear to have missed this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elef Posted December 25, 2006 Report Share Posted December 25, 2006 Bangkok Post Today Link New airport faces partial shutdown Mistakes, graft found in almost all contracts AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK Poor construction at Suvarnabhumi may force parts of the new airport to be shut down for repairs. This would open the way for the recently abandoned Don Muang airport to be re-opened to serve Bangkok's air traffic needs. Deputy Transport Minister Sansern Wongcha-um said yesterday that following a recent report on the problems facing Suvarnabhumi airport, it was likely that part of the new facility would have to be closed and Don Muang airport would pick up the slack. Some people had suggested the airport, open less than three months, be completely closed for a revamp, with flights being redirected to Don Muang until the improvements are completed, Mr Sansern said. He was opposed to that. Trying to move everything back to Don Muang would cause chaos. The Council for Democratic Reform _ now the Council for National Security _ asked about the readiness of Suvarnabhumi airport just after the Sept 19 coup, but executives of the Airports of Thailand (AoT) had insisted the airport was ready for the scheduled Sept 28 opening. Opening the airport before it was completed had inevitably led to problems. If the opening had been delayed to allow work to be finished properly, the airport would have started on a more solid footing. The new AoT board appointed after the coup has discovered physical and managerial problems at Suvarnabhumi airport. Board member Yodyiam Theptranont, who heads a sub-panel investigating the problems, said the repairs would take a long time. He could not give a timeframe. Mr Yodyiam's report to the AoT board outlined a lengthy list of complaints and deficiencies, along with a list of recommendations on fixing the problems. The report attributed the faults to substandard construction, poor management and manipulation of designs and materials. The report said the airport's information technology facilities were incomplete and the upper floors of the car park building have no drains, causing rain water to flow into elevator shafts. Over 1,000 lamps had already burned out and not been replaced. Mr Yodyiam said AoT lacked an official with direct responsibility for the airport's construction, which had posed an obstacle in getting swift repairs. Another AoT board member, Tortrakul Yomnak, said many areas need repairs and a partial closure was likely. Chaisak Angsuwan, director-general of the Civil Aviation Department, said that due to the persistent problems, the department could not issue a permanent licence for Suvarnabhumi airport. It would, however, extend an interim aerodrome certificate for the airport for another six months in January, he said. Mr Chaisak said the airport needed to meet all physical and operational requirements before it could be given a permanent certificate. There were many cracks in the airport's taxiways, some serious and some not, and repairs would be time-consuming, he said. Many operations staff also have no expertise in using their equipment. Adm Bannawit Kengrian, chairman of the National Legislative Assembly's committee on Suvarnabhumi airport, said his panel had discovered mistakes and irregularities in almost all the airport's contracts. Names of those believed responsible would be announced in two weeks. Specifications in some contracts had been distorted, he said. Salaries paid executives of the Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel were unusually high. Despite its claimed five-star status, the hotel had plywood doors. An inexperienced contractor operated transformers that supply power to visiting aircraft and six transformers had burnt out. The cost of digging ditches around the airport was inflated to three billion baht and hiring security guards to five billion baht. Any contracts where corruption was found would be scrapped, he said Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 25, 2006 Report Share Posted December 25, 2006 Wow! What a mess!!!! Altho' hardly surprising, but really embarassing i would think for Thailands image...? Thanks for the additional post elef. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lusty Posted December 25, 2006 Report Share Posted December 25, 2006 "Any contracts where corruption was found would be scrapped, he said" So they will have to level the whole site then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted December 25, 2006 Report Share Posted December 25, 2006 Bully! Back to Don Muang again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted December 25, 2006 Report Share Posted December 25, 2006 Will never happen. There might be some small dog and pony show and in the end, nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh_Hoy Posted December 25, 2006 Report Share Posted December 25, 2006 "The report attributed the faults to substandard construction, poor management and manipulation of designs and materials." I am shocked! HH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elef Posted December 25, 2006 Report Share Posted December 25, 2006 I wonder if it's a coincidence that this was published the day after the missing tsunami-money - now foreign companies also will be involved in corruption... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thalenoi Posted December 25, 2006 Report Share Posted December 25, 2006 The place is a complete misfit, was not designed with the traveller in mind, but you can not go back. Savanaboum wil never win any prizes except receiving the golden medal for the worst built new airport Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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