ABB has secured an order worth $3.5m to deliver substation equipment including gas-insulated switchgears (GIS), control and protection technology, dry-type and power transformers as well as supervision, installation and test commissioning through the EPC Interlink Communication (Thailand) Public to facilitate the distribution of power at Suvarnabhumi Airport’s phase-II expansion in Bangkok, Thailand.
The airport is the sixth busiest airport in Asia and one of two international airports serving Bangkok. Serving as a regional gateway and connecting hub for various foreign carriers, the airport has the world’s tallest free-standing control tower (132.2m), and the world’s fourth largest single-building airport terminal measuring 563,000m².
The 115/24kV power transformer and 115kV control and protection equipment will be manufactured in ABB’s manufacturing facility in Samutprakan, Bangkok, while the 115kV GIS will be imported from ABB in China and 24kV / 416V dry-type transformer from ABB in Korea, demonstrating a collaborative, customer-focused approach.
“We are proud to be part of the phase-II expansion in providing reliable and efficient power supplies, and state-of-the-art electrical substations to meet the needs of a busy airport,” said Praditpong Suksirithawornkul, ABB’s sales manager for the Power Grids division in Thailand.
In order to ease the congestion problem at the airport which is now operating close to its capacity, the expansion plan includes the construction of one additional runway, subsequent enlargement of domestic and international terminals, and improvements to parking bays, car parks, and other airport infrastructure.
When phase-II work is completed in 2018, it should increase passenger capacity at the airport from the current 45 million to over 60 million per year. This expansion will cope with passenger congestion and the continuously increasing number of flights.