Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) aims to develop an "airport city" project at Suvarnabhumi airport at a cost of 11 billion baht.
It will be developed under a public-private partnership scheme, said Pattanapong Suwannachat, chief financial officer (CFO) of the AoT, adding the project will cover 900 rai of the airport's Zone A and 723 rai of Zone B.
According to him, Chinese giant Alibaba Group has expressed interest in building a warehouse since the company realises the growing trend of e-commerce business in Thailand and Asean.
Regarding import duty on products sold online, it would be waived if the items are priced lower than 1,500 baht, and this is a business opportunity for small-scale transport, he said.
"The airport city project could be launched within four or five years," said Mr Pattanapong.
According to the company's CFO, the AoT will also soon sign a memorandum of understanding with an airport in Belgium to set up a facility to check and certify farm products in line with European standards.
"We'll be among the first in Asean to provide this service," said Mr Pattanapong.
He said initially the hub would help certify roses, which are grown in Thailand and mostly exported to China.
AoT reported 33 billion baht in revenue between October and March, up 5% from the same period a year earlier. It also registered a profit of 14 billion baht in the period, up 3.98% from a year earlier.
The rise is earnings stemmed from growth in tourist arrivals, Mr Pattanapong said.
Over the past seven months, the number of passengers handled by AoT airports has risen by 2.2%, he added.
