After just four years of operations, Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport will undergo a 62 million baht expansion in an effort to avoid overcrowding.  

The Thai cabinet has finally approved the long-delayed expansion plans, which Transport Minister Sopon Zarum said will lift passenger handling capacity to 60 million a year.

According to current trends, Suvarnabhumi is likely to reach its maximum capacity of 45 million passengers this year and the expansion is not expected to be completed until 2015.

Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) has confirmed that they are working on ways to combat congestion at Suvarnabhumi with plans to streamline traffic flow and better manage aircraft time slots through shifting some arrivals and departures to non-peak periods.

"It's better late than never," AoT president Serirat Prasutanond told the Bangkok Post.