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General News
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2007-02-02 21:52:03-05
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Suvarnabhumi Airport closes after just five months
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Bangkok, Feb 3: Something is definitely rotten at Bangkok's brand new 3.9-billion-dollar Suvarnabhumi Airport, and it's not just the lack of sufficient toilets. The airport, which opened last September to huge publicity after years of delay and bad press, has had to partially close because cracks have appeared on some runways. Thailand's transport ministry is to recommend some domestic flights be transferred from Bangkok's new airport to the decommissioned old one. Suvarnabhumi Airport, designed to showcase Thailand as a regional hub, opened in September to huge publicity. But the building has been dogged by problems, from allegations of corruption to claims of a ghost. After a meeting with airport officials, Transport Minister Thira Haocharoen said he would seek Cabinet approval to reopen the old international airport at Don Muang on a temporary basis. "The decision to move back to Don Muang was based on a series of problems that have plagued Suvarnabhumi, from cracks on the taxiways to out-of-order aerobridges," Mr Thira said. The reopening is expected to take place within two months' time, he added. Airlines would move on a voluntary basis and only flights which had no international connections would be asked to make the switch. The Thai authorities hoped that Suvaranabhumi, which means Golden Land, would rival the airports in Hong Kong and Singapore and cement Thailand 's reputation as a regional hub. Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a coup in September, made the project one of the main priorities of his administration, and the US$4bn glass and steel airport should theoretically be able to handle 45 million passengers a year. But since development started more than 40 years ago, the project has been mired by a series of problems. Politicians from Mr Thaksin's administration were accused of buying up land in advance of construction, to sell on again at huge profits, and the purchase of the airport's high-tech X-Ray scanners was also tainted by allegations of corruption, reports ciobinternational.org. The project also suffered many delays and accidents, including a fire that swept through a catering hall, killing a member of staff.
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