Betong airport to open in 2020

YALA, Dec 8 (TNA) -- The transport minister laid a foundation stone at the Betong airport site in the southern province of Yala and expected it to open in 2020. In the foundation stone-laying ceremony, Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said the 1.9-billion-baht airport was originally set to be constructed within three years from 2016 to 2018 to facilitate trips to the mountainous terrain of Betong district. The project was aimed to support the development of three southern border provinces - Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat. A 920-rai land plot was bought for the project. The new airport will have a 2,100-metre-long runway to serve big airplanes and a parking area for three planes at a time. Its passenger terminal was designed to cover 7,000 square metres and serve 500,000 passengers a year. Mr Arkhom said Betong airport would facilitate trips to Yala and bordering areas of Malaysia and support economic development and security in the three southern border provinces. Its operation will increase the number of foreign tourists in the far South from 600,000 to 1 million and generate tourism-related income worth over 4 billion baht a year, he said. (TNA)