February 13, 2008
BANGKOK - General Saprang Kalayanamitra has resigned as chairman of Airports of Thailand (AOT), a spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Gen Saprang became the chairman of AOT after a coup in September 2006, vowing to clean up alleged corruption.
Instead, he became embroiled in scandals of his own as profits plunged and questions were asked about a lavish European tour that he made at the company's expense, according to AFP.
"He has announced that he will resign and that his resignation will be effective Thursday," the AOT spokeswoman said.
"He said it's an appropriate time for him to step down to allow the new government to select his replacement," she added.
Under Saprang's chairmanship, AOT's net profits plunged nearly 90 percent in the 2007 fiscal year to 1.09 billion baht (33 million dollars) from 10.5 billion baht the year before.
Saprang remains chairman of state telecom operator TOT, another post he claimed after the coup, despite complaints from the company's union, which accused him of mismanagement that resulted in falling revenues.
