Vietnam to have five international airports

The new terminal of Tan Son Nhat Airport, HCM City

Many projects to upgrade and build new airports have been implemented in Vietnam recently. Most airports need to be expanded to meet the growth of the aviation market, around 20%/year on average and up to 50% in the south.

According to the Vietnam Civil Aviation Administration, in the next 3-4 years, the T1 terminal of Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi will be overloaded. It is expected that by 2010, when the T1 terminal reaches a capacity of 8-10 million passengers/year, the T2 terminal will be put into operation.

HCM City-based Tan Son Nhat Airport has just opened a new terminal which can serve 8-10 million passengers per year. This airport will be further expanded by 30ha to welcome more planes.

In the long run, Long Thanh International Airport, the largest airport in Vietnam, will be built in the southern province of Dong Nai. It will be able to welcome up to 100 million passengers per year. This airport will be put into use after 2010, when Tan Son Nhat Airport is overloaded. The total investment of this project is up to $7 billion, including $4.5 billion for the first phase, 2011-2015.

Da Nang International Airport is investing VND400 billion to upgrade its runways and some other facilities. In addition, an $80 million project to build a new terminal will be carried out in the near future.

In Can Tho city, the VND500 billion project to build Tra Noc Airport is about to get underway. Tra Noc is designated to become a key airport of the Mekong Delta region.

The VND200 billion project to build a terminal for Cam Ranh Airport in Khanh Hoa province is about to be put up for tender. Other airports like Phu Cat, Lien Khuong will be upgraded soon. In early 2008, the VND212 billion Dong Hoi Airport will open for passengers.

(Source: VNN)