Suvarnabhumi Airport, the brand new Bangkok Worldwide Airport, aviation hub and gateway to Thailand was raised from the boggy Nong Ngu Hao or Cobra Swamp in an effort that took 43 years.
Location of Suvarnabhumi Airport
Located to the south-east of Bangkok in Bang Phli district, Samut Prakarn province, Suvarnabhumi Airport is barely 500 m past the Bangkok metropolis limits and about 35 km from the town center.
The Bangkok - Chonburi Motorway runs two km to the north of the airport before crossing into Samut Prakarn and then on to Chonburi and the seaside resort of Pataya.
The other predominant road to the north of the airport is Soi Sukhumvit 77 which leads on the the principle Sukhmvit Road at On Nut. 9 km to the south, the Bang Na - Trad Freeway hyperlinks Bangkok to the coastal provinces within the Gulf of Thailand.
The identify Suvarnabhumi has an extended and fascinating history, paying homage to a golden period of peace and prosperity that is a part of the cultural and historical legacy of Thailand.
Lengthy before the first Europeans arrived in South-East Asia in the 16th century, the region had shut industrial and cultural links with India, a civilization that existed more than 15 centuries ago. This cultural legacy is still evident in Thailand and lots of South-East Asian countries.
Indian students referred to the area east of India and south of China, i.e. Burma, Indo-China and Thailand or mainland South-East Asia, as Suvarnabhumi or the Land of Gold, a word in ancient Sanskrit, (Suvarn is gold in Thai). The islands of the Malay Archipelago to the south had been known as Suvarnadvipa or the Islands of Gold.
This was probably because of the rich pure sources in the area which the Europeans have been soon to discover. It was no coincidence that the Chinese language sea-faring traders had an analogous title for the region.
The identify Suvarnabhumi (pronounced su-wan-na-poom) or the Golden Land was bestowed on the airport by His Majesty King Bhumipol Adulyadej.
The 43 lengthy years
The event of Suvarnabhumi Airport from its inception in 1973 to its completion in 2006 was perpetually dogged by a sequence of political and monetary problems.
Land for the airport was first bought in 1973 in an space identified by the unsavory identify of Nong Ngu Hao or Cobra Swamp. But the 14 October 1973 rebellion that overthrew the military dictator Area Marshall Thanom Kittikachorn and the following political turmoil grounded the challenge for the following 20 years.
Suvarnabhumi Airport was revived in 1996 with the formation of the company New Bangkok Worldwide Airport (NBIA), to be stalled by the Asian financial crisis a 12 months later.
It was solely in January 2002, that construction really started. This time the undertaking was plagued by value overruns, defects and delays in construction. By early 2005, it was obvious that the September opening date later that 12 months simply could not be met. In that very same yr, NBIA was dissolved and its capabilities transferred to the Airports of Thailand Plc.
A frustrated Prime Minister Taksin Shinawatra actually camped on the airport development site in an attempt to drive the project on. Allegations of an enormous corruption scandal over the airport bomb scanner gear added to his woes.
Suvarnabhumi - the Golden Land resurrected
Despite all these problems, Suvarnabhumi Airport by September 2006 is lastly completed. The result's an airport complex protecting 32 sq km or 8,000 acres! The passenger terminal, with seven tales, a basement and 360 check-in counters, has a constructed-in space of greater than half 1,000,000 sq m, slightly below the mixed floor areas of Terminals 1 & 2 at Singapore's Changi Worldwide Airport.
With two runways, Suvarnabhumi Airport has a current capability of 30 m passengers per 12 months, soon to be upgraded to forty five m. The last word goal is to add another two runways to spice up the capability to 100m passengers per year.
It additionally boasts the highest control tower in Asia at 132 m, edging out the 130 m tower in Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
Suvarnabhumi Airport has finally arrived after 43 long and arduous years. This impressive construction is now the brand new gateway to Thailand, the new Bangkok Worldwide Airport and an international aviation hub that is poised to be the pleasure of Thailand and the aviation world.
Suvanabhumi, the Golden Land has been resurrected, symbolizing the peace and prosperity of an era gone by.
For details on the placement of the airport and journey arrangements to the city, please see map to Suvarnabhumi Airport.
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