Sector Airports & Aviation

Project Type Project Management of Airport Construction

Project Title Project Management Consultant [PMC) for Suvarnabhumi International Airport (SIA)

Location Nong Ngu Hao, 30 km East of Bangkok, Thailand

Client New Bangkok International Airport Co., Ltd. / Airports of Thailand Plc

Project Period September 1999 – September 2007

Problems addressed by the Project

Bangkok’s former international airport at Don Muang was operating beyond its design capacity and was not capable of being expanded. The Thai Government therefore decided to construct the new Suvarnabhumi International Airport (SIA) on about 3,200 ha of land 30 km from Bangkok. Airport construction began in 1999 and was carried out via a series of contracts for design, construction supervision, and construction and equipment supply. SIA was inaugurated on the 28th of September 2006. The swampy ground conditions made this site full of engineering challenges.

Service Provided

OC Global was the lead consultant of a consortium of five companies that performed the role of project management consultant (PMC). The services covered procurement and tendering, budget and cost control, program management, and monitoring of progress and day-to-day control of engineering design and construction. OC Global also coordinated all associated packages undertaken by other government agencies and private entities. The PMC was responsible for the tendering process as well as the monitoring of construction and contract administration activities. The project was divided into more than 140 work packages with 20 more privatized packages including a hotel and operations facilities for airlines.

Actual Project Works

The initial Phase 1 included a 4,000 m runway, a 3,700 m runway, and airfield pavements, all capable of accommodating A380 aircraft and 76 aircraft movements per hour. The 563,000 m2 passenger terminal building with 51 contact gates can handle 45 million annual passengers (MAP) and is the largest in the world under a single roof. A further 68 remote/cargo positions, car parking, public transport, maintenance and operations facilities are supported by hi-tech communications systems. More than 30 km of landside access roads were constructed as associated airport infrastructure and utilities. The airport also boasts the highest air traffic control tower (132 m) in the world. The Airport Master Plan foresees a four-runway configuration with additional mid-field satellite terminals able to handle an ultimate annual capacity of 120 MAP and 6.4 million tons of freight per annum.

▼ “Supertruss” at Main Terminal spans 100 m supporting the world’s largest single roof

Aerial view of Main Terminal & Concourses ►

▼ Interior view of Concourse ‘E’