AFR: Tourism plans may yet take off

[heiko@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

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Australian Financial Review, 13. January 2000

Tourism plans may yet take off 

By Bruce Cheesman, Bangkok 

Six months after the opening of Mandalay's multimillion-dollar airport,
the pride of the Burmese junta, a plane has yet to touch down on a
runway capable of handling Boeing 747s.

The 4.2 kilometre airstrip - bigger than the main strip at Bangkok's Don
Muang international airport - has yet to record a single oil stain or
brake mark. A sophisticated baggage handling system has processed no
suitcases except in trials. The foyers, lounges and concourses,
inhabited only by cleaners, rival those of Australia's airports.

Mandalay international airport, built at a cost of $US150 million ($228
million), is the latest would-be South-East Asian aviation hub. It
boasts four 600,000 litre storage tanks, 12 hydrant fuel pits and an
impressive glass-walled terminal with traditional Burmese roof
architecture.

The distinctive 30m high air traffic control tower is capable of
handling 30,000 to 45,000 aircraft movements a year. It commands a view
of the empty road leading to the terminal, built by Italian-Thai
Development Co Ltd and designed by Marshall Macklin Monaghan of Canada,
which has 36 check-in counters and four air bridges.

When work started in March 1994, the airport was designed to become
Burma's premier airport, replacing Rangoon as the country's main
gateway. Located in a dust bowl 40km outside Burma's second-largest
city, it was designed to put Burma on the map as a major tourist
destination.

But trade sanctions have since scuppered the junta's plans to rival
Thailand as a holiday mecca. The Government is so hard up for cash that
it cannot afford to operate the airport. It lacks the ground handling
equipment needed to run a modern airport, such as push-back tractors,
dollies, lavatory and potable water trucks, a lower deck loader,
tractors and a mobile passenger step and belts.

But help is at hand from Thai Airports Ground Services (TAGS), a company
which is close to signing an agreement with the Government to run the
airport. The Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) is prepared to give TAGS
a 28-year concession to run the airport, and a share of profits.

Under the deal, TAGS would be given a joint budget of about $US2.5
million to run ramp-handling and passenger and cargo services, and a
$US800,000 shopping list for ground-handling equipment.

Its president, Anuphong Rojnuckarin, knows the risks of dealing with
Burma, but says: "This investment is safe because it is a joint venture
and it has been approved by the Myanmar Investment Commission and the
Cabinet."

The Government, desperate for foreign exchange, hopes the airport will
soon be handling about three million arrivals a year. Most of Burma's
leading tourism attractions, including the temples of Pagan, are near
Mandalay. Government officials said carriers including All Nippon Air
and China Air intended to use the airport.
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