100m-baht funding for Phayao airport EIA added to Cabinet agenda
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said he supported plans to build an airport in Phayao, while a minister said its environmental impact assessment (EIA) will be reviewed at the next Cabinet meeting.
The Cabinet is scheduled to hold a mobile meeting in the northern province on Tuesday.
Srettha was speaking to members of the press on Monday as he led members of the Cabinet to visit the spot proposed for the airport in Phayao’s Dok Kham Tai district.
“I call on Phayao people to be patient and wait for the airport,” he said. “The airport is now undergoing a feasibility study. Its construction is a crucial factor for upgrading a second-tier province to first tier. After visiting the province, I realised that Phayao has good potential to be developed into a first-tier province.”
The premier added that his government will carefully study the Phayao airport project and ensure that taxpayers’ money is not wasted if the government does go ahead with the project.
Srettha added that the airport project will be taken up by Transport Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit and Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Thamanat Prompow.
Thamanat, meanwhile, told reporters that the Phayao governor will propose the airport project to the Cabinet at its mobile meeting on Tuesday. If the Cabinet approves the project, the governor will then ask for a fund of 100 million baht to conduct an EIA study.
The Phayao Airport project was first proposed by the Department of Airports, and its feasibility study kicked off in March 2021 and was completed in May 2022.
The feasibility study proposed that the airport be built on 2,812 rai (449.92 hectares) of land straddling Don Srichum and Ban Tham subdistricts. As of April 2022, the estimated cost of the construction was 4.42 billion baht.
