The decision came after the emergence of a gigantic luxury mixed-use property development project next door, The Terminal Phuket, which will be a direct competitor to AoT's planned Phuket International Airport City (PIAC).
Management also opted for the 24,000-square-metre plot slated for PIAC's development, located in front of the passenger terminal, to continue with its current function as a car park.
The multi-storey PIAC would block the view of the airport terminal from the landside, reducing the airport's visibility and prominence.
"Realising our commitment to serving the travelling public, we think we are better off keeping the area's current role," the airport's general manager Monrudee Gettuphan told the Bangkok Post.
The multi-billion-baht scheme was part of the state-controlled airport operator's unprecedented push to transform areas within six airports under its purview into commercial zones to create extra revenue and reduce dependence on income from aeronautical operations.
Phuket airport was chosen as one of the three initial sites, in addition to Suvarnabhumi in Samut Prakan and Don Mueang in Bangkok, because of its heavy passenger traffic.
Phuket is the country's third busiest airport, with over 11 million passengers passing through it last year, nearly double its capacity.
Senior AoT executives said the construction of The Terminal Phuket, developed by Phuket Sirinath Property Co on a 72-rai plot of land, would diminish the business proposition of AoT's scheme. They said that if PIAC had proceeded, it would create a glut in supply in the neighbourhood.
The Terminal Phuket, a five-minute drive from the airport, will initially offer more than 500 condominium units, with successive phases adding villas, a shopping mall and office buildings.
The project features a large artificial lake and a green area of more than 24,000 sq m.
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