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roads will further improve container flow in and out of
the port. In addition, a “coastal terminal” will open next
year that will accommodate the smaller vessels and barges
that ply the Chao Phraya River (the inland waterway to
Bangkok) and feed cargo to smaller ports in the region.
The coastal terminal is expected
to process 300,000 TEUs per year.
The terminal operators at the
port will also make significant
investments in technology once
Phase III gets under way.
“We have a lot of technology
percent of the current container
volume at Laem Chabang. Among
other enhancements, automated
cranes will be installed for loading and unloading ships at
the berths. These will be remote-controlled from an adjoining building, as will the rubber-tired gantries that will work
the new container yards. “We are the most modern port in
Southeast Asia. The technology drives us to be competitive,” he adds.
THE SKY’S THE LIMIT
Over on the aircargo side, work is under way to expand
U-Tapao Airport, a former U.S. military base now operated
by the Thai navy. Total investment at the airport, which
lies about 90 miles southeast of Bangkok, is budgeted at
US$5.7 billion. The airport already
has a passenger terminal, which is
being expanded to turn U-Tapao
into Thailand’s third international
airport (a move aimed at reducing
the strain on Bangkok’s other two
airports). Last year, 700,000 passengers used U-Tapao, and traffic
is on pace to increase 20 percent
this year.
Next year, construction will
begin on a second runway and a
port a center for aviation maintenance, repair, and overhaul. Thai Airways already has a three-hangar maintenance
operation at U-Tapao for both narrow- and wide-body
airplanes. However, the facility sits on the site of the new
runway, so it will soon be demolished and replaced with a
new building containing five hangars.
