Since 2012 Kannithi Aviation (Kan Air) has attempted to construct an airport on the island. Kan Air has spent some 500 million baht to acquire about 32 hectares of land to build a passenger terminal capable of handling 1,000 passengers a day and a 1,095 metre runway to accommodate turboprop aircraft such as Kan Air's ATR 72-600 series. The project, originally estimated at 900 million baht—now estimated to cost two billion baht—has faced inflated costs, delays resulting from the yet-to-be-issued environmental impact assessment and other complications, which pushed back initial plans to open in 2014. Kan Air's president claimed the airport would be open by the end of 2017.