The U-Tapao Rayong-Pattaya International Airport plans to begin construction of its second runway this year.
Italian-Thai Development (ITD) has been selected as the project contractor.
The project is being planned with the Royal Thai Navy (RTN).
The second runway is expected to service at least 70 flights an hour and accommodate large aircraft.
The project investment is around 15.2 billion baht in total.
However, the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) has raised concerns about the delayed construction of the high-speed railway connecting three airports -- Don Mueang, Suvarnabhumi and U-Tapao.
The high-speed rail system has a contract signed with the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) and Asia Era One, a Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group subsidiary. The project is now being negotiated and expected to wrap up this month.
The design and construction plan for the high-speed rail tunnel will have to pass under the second runway.
Construction of the runway is expected to take 36 months.
