Venomous snake swamp 'transforms' into leading international airport

(Baonghean.vn) - Savarnabhumi International Airport is the starting point for many tourist itineraries in Thailand. Visitors coming here hear the story of a majestic and massive structure rising from a land that was once just a swamp, with so many poisonous snakes that people did not dare to go near it.

Completed in 2006 at a cost of $3.8 billion, Suvarnabhumi Airport is located in Racha Thewa, Bang Phli District, Samut Prakan Province, 25 km east of downtown Bangkok. It is the 18th busiest airport in the world with an area of ​​32.8 km², serving over 53 million passengers per year.

The first impression of visitors when landing at Suvarnabhumi is the domes shaped like temples in the style of Thai Buddhism. Suvarnabhumi has the world's tallest air traffic control tower at 132.2m, the world's largest single terminal at 563,000 m², handling both international and domestic passengers. The airport's current capacity is 45 million passengers per year but can be upgraded to serve 150 million passengers.

The buildings inside the airport bear the cultural and religious characteristics of the land of the golden Buddha.

The airport is designed to be able to upgrade its capacity to serve up to 150 million passengers/year.

The airport terminal is 7 stories high and has 2 basements. The airport is full of shopping, dining, entertainment and resting areas for tourists. It can handle 76 flights and 8,300 tons of cargo per hour. In particular, behind this massive project is a story that makes many planners and economic strategists ponder.

In 1973, realizing the need for a new airport to replace Bangkok International Airport, the Nong Ngu Hao swamp was selected and purchased with a total area of ​​324km². Nong Ngu Hao in Thai means “Cobra Swamp” because there are many poisonous snakes living here. King Bhumibol Adulyadej then renamed the land Suvarnabhumi, meaning “Golden Land”. However, political events and the Asian financial crisis caused the project to stall. Many investors later tried to take over the project but failed. It was not until the time of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra that the project continued to be implemented and completed.

The land leveling process took five years to complete, not to mention many previous failed attempts by investors.

In 1997, the land leveling phase was carried out, requiring a huge amount of earth and rock. However, if the land was dredged from another area, it would create another large depression and the cost would be very expensive. This was also an obstacle that caused many investors to give up. At the same time, the Bangkok subway project began to be implemented, so the government directed the use of earth and rock dug up from the tunnel to level the swamp. After 5 years of hard work, the swamp full of venomous snakes was completely leveled, ready to enter the construction phase. In September 2006, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinwatra officially announced the inauguration of Suvarnabhumi International Airport after 33 years of conception.

Suvarnabhumi Airport is an architectural complex that harmonizes modernity and environmental friendliness.

Suvarnabhumi International Airport and the Bangkok Metro are two great legacies left by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra after his time in power. Thai people often talk about the story of the giant airport rising from the poisonous snake swamp as a miracle with pride. It can be seen that to do such great things requires a different vision, flexible policies and continuous efforts.

Phan Minh