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Airports of Thailand to make an initial 736 Million Baht for noise compensation

Monday, April 2nd, 2007

The Airports of Thailand (AOT) board has agreed to help with compensation costs for householders exposed to harmful levels of aircraft noise from Suvarnabhumi airport, by making an initial payment of 736 million baht.

The decision was reached at a recent meeting of the AOT board which agreed to settle the bill, as initially recommended by the National Environment Board (NEB). However, it will ask the government to cover the larger part of compensation worth 121.5 billion baht, said board member and spokesman Chermsak Pinthong.

In 2005, the NEB estimated that an initial compensation package worth 736.07 million baht would be needed for people living close by the new Bangkok airport. However, cabinet last November approved a fresh study which said an additional 121.5 billion baht might be needed as more people would be affected by the noise problem once the airport reaches its full capacity of 76 flights per hour.

The affected people are divided into two groups, those exposed to noise levels of 60-70 decibels and those exposed to more than 70 decibels.

According to the NEB, the noise levels should not exceed 70 decibels on average over a 24-hour period.

There are 129 houses exposed to noise levels of above 70 decibels. The homeowners have been advised to relocate and their land will be expropriated by the government. So far the AOT has talked to 71 householders but were unable to settle on expropriation costs and compensation in most cases.

Those exposed to noise levels of 60-70 decibels have agreed to the AOT‘s noise pollution alleviation measures, including installation of noise insulation and regular checks on noise levels. The AoT has earmarked a 174.7-million-baht budget for the noise mitigation scheme. Schools, hospitals, and temples are among those that fall into this group.

Mr Chermsak said the AOT board would also set up a public complaints center for people wanting to notify it of noise pollution problems.

Transport Minister Theera Haocharoen said the AOT board was welcome to ask the government to pay for the rest of the compensation. However, the estimated 121.5 billion baht might not be the final figure as the finance minister would also have to consider the budget.

This part of the compensation would be paid to owners of property to the north and south of the Suvarnabhumi‘s runways.

According to the Airports of Thailand, the total area affected by noise pollution covers up to 144 square kilometres.



Sound-proof house for people living near Suvarnabhumi Airport

Monday, March 19th, 2007

A design for a sound-proof house for people living near Suvarnabhumi airport has earned three Rangsit University (RSU) students an architecture award. They say their design would keep out 60% of the noise. The winners are Pichaya Prasertwong, Jaruek Taweesri-amnuay and Intat Wejsan from RSU’s architecture faculty.

They beat 37 other teams in a contest for a sound-proofed house organised by King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Lat Krabang (KMITL).

The winning design has double-glazed walls which serve the double purpose of plane-viewing pleasure and a noise barrier.

It also incorporates the latest noise reduction technology employed at stations used by Japan’s Shinkansen high-speed bullet trains.

”Almost 70% of the construction materials are sound-deadening,” said Mr Jaruek.

”Design contests typically deal with energy conservation.

”For this competition we had to do extensive research and use a lot of imagination to come up with suitable materials and construction techniques.”

The designed house fits on a 50 square wah (200 square metres) block of land and costs no more than two million baht to build, said Mr Jaruek.

Walls are mostly made of double-glass, similar to aircraft windows, which provide sound and heat insulation. Concrete walls are made of cool block bricks with foam in the middle, which also shield the house against noise and heat.

For better sound insulation, the bedroom and living room walls are built with two gypsum boards, with fibre insulation in between.

The balcony and exterior laths are tilted at the same angle as the exterior of the Japanese bullet train stations, which have proven successful in reducing noise in the station neighbourhood.

Mr Jaruek said the curved roof would reflect the constant roar of planes passing overhead as they land and take off.

Mr Pichaya said he trusted the design would be useful elsewhere as the continuing expansion of the train network and highways was likely to increase noise pollution in Bangkok.

Contest judge Pichet Sowittayasagul, of KMITL’s architecture faculty, said the winning design should offer 60% noise protection.

He was impressed with the trio’s use of exciting and interesting sound-proofing techniques, such as the double-glazed wall and tilted laths.

He said the students’ work would be a guide for communities living under aircraft noise from Suvarnabhumi airport on how to improve the quality of their lives.

Contest chairman Pongthip Inkaew said the noise-reduction measures the contest offered would be helpful to Suvarnabhumi neighbours who lacked the funds to move away.

KMITL deputy rector Siriwat Bhothivejjakul said there were seven award-winning designs altogether.

They would be built in the KMITL compound near the new Bangkok Airport to study their noise-reduction ability.

Interim Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont has pressed officials to quickly tackle the problems.

Airports of Thailand last Tuesday estimated it needed 121.5 billion baht to compensate owners of property to the north and south of the runways.



Airport of Thailand estimates B120 billion for noise compensation

Thursday, March 15th, 2007

Airports of Thailand will need government money to buy out residents withering under the onslaught of aircraft noise from nearby Suvarnabhumi airport, with total compensation payments estimated at 121.5 billion baht.

The company has completed its estimates of compensation for owners of property to the north and south of the eastern and western runways, an Airports of Thailand (AOT) source said yesterday.

About one billion baht will be offered to schools, hospitals, government agencies and public places around the new Bangkok airport.

The rest will go to owners of private property suffering from the noise.

The problem is, AOT does not have the money to pay the compensation, because it is tied down by a 70-billion-baht debt with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. The money was borrowed for construction of the new Bangkok airport.

Deputy Transport Minister Sansern Wongcha-um said he would need to take a detailed look at the estimates drawn up by AOT. The acquisition of some properties to the north and south of the runways could be a long-term solution, he said.

As for immediate solutions, AOT should speed up paying initial compensation, which had already been allocated to some noise-affected communities.

Mr Sansern was at Don Muang Airport yesterday with Transport Minister Theera Haocharoen, inspecting preparations for reopening of the airport for some flights while repairs are being done at Suvarnabhumi.

Adm Theera confirmed Don Muang would reopen for regular domestic services on March 25, 2007 as scheduled.

The domestic terminal will serve domestic flights, and terminal one in the international wing will handle charter flights. Renovation of the terminals should be finished by Tuesday, he said.

Mr Sansern said he planned to lift the 50-baht surcharge for taxis exiting Don Muang airport with passengers because the airport was situated near communities and access was easy.

Air force chief ACM Chalit Pukpasuk, as chairman of Thai Airways International, said the national carrier would open check-in counters at Lat Phrao subway station to serve passengers going to Don Muang airport when it reopens.



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