Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) is drumming up a campaign to attract property developers to tap the advantages of its land, in another move to reduce risks from its core aviation business.
The SET-Listed airport operator has set its sights initially on land in and around Suvarnabhumi airport, where 40% of the total 2,512-rai site is still available for development. The remainder comprises its own land and royal property under the Treasury Department.
AoT executives took prospective investors for a tour on Thursday to promote the idea, boasting about the location close to the airport that could be developed for various uses, including hotels, convention centres and medical hubs.
The development plan will help establish Suvarnabhumi as an aviation hub in Asia, it said in a statement.
The company also has land in and around the five other international airports it operates, which could be turned into what it termed “new economic hubs”.
“AoT anticipates that the development projects in the areas of six airports nationwide will attract a combined investment of more than 28,800 million baht,” it said in a press release on Thursday.
Other AoT-operated airports are Don Mueang, Chiang Mai, Mah Fah Luang in Chiang Rai, Phuket and Hat Yai.
AoT relies almost equally on two sources of income - aeronautical and non-aeronautical businesses. Direct aviation business revenue mainly comes from landing fees and passenger service charges, while the commercial part includes rents and profit-sharing from duty-free and other shops.
Analysts viewed the plan as an attempt to rely less on the aviation sector by diversifying to other sectors after learning the lesson from the Covid-19 pandemic, which grounded air travel and international tourists.
“Aero revenue is a business linked with tourism,” said Dome Kunprayoonsawad, an analyst with Pi Securities, on the company’s YouTube programme on May 2.
“Non-aero business is the one AoT aims to increase,” added Mr Dome, who closely monitors the aviation sector.
In the first quarter of its 2025 fiscal year, from Oct 1 to Dec 31, AoT reported revenue of 17.9 billion baht, an increase of 13.4% from the same period a year earlier. Net profit increased 17.1% to 5.34 billion baht. Its shares rose 50 satang on the Stock Exchange of Thailand to close at 39 baht on Friday.