Australian-listed casino operator keen to join Lao Cai airport development

May 09, 2016 | 13:50

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Donaco International Limited has expressed interest in joining in the development of Lao Cai airport in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai.

Joey Lim, Donaco’s managing director, made the statement to this effect at the conference on Lao Cai Investment and Tourism Development 2016 held last Saturday in the province.

“We would love to work with developer Sun Group and the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) in the development,” he said.

“Eventually we’ll see Lao Cai becoming a hub for tourism and logistics and an airport is very critical for the development of the province,” Lim elaborated when talking to VIR on the sideline of the conference.

In the field of tourism where Donaco operates, the airport is going to be a great boost. “Noi Bai-Lao Cai expressway already improved tourist access to Lao Cai immensely. Having a direct flight to Lao Cai would be a big saving in terms of time. So stay will get longer and people will spend more money.”

Donaco operates leisure and entertainment businesses across the Asia Pacific region. In Lao Cai, it’s operating the Aristo International Hotel, a boutique casino located on the border with Yunnan province of China. Established in 2002, the property has recently been expanded to a brand new 5-star resort complex with 400 hotel rooms. Donaco owns a 95 per cent interest in the business.

Lao Cai airport is designed to become a 4C standard airport for both civil and military use, able to receive A320, A321, and equivalent aircraft. Once completed, the airport will contain two aircraft parking spaces, and will have an annual capacity of 560,000 passengers and 600 tonnes of freight. By 2030, its capacity will increase to 1.58 million passengers and 2,880 tonnes of freight per year, and will include five parking spaces for aircraft.

The airport will also be able to handle flights to all domestic airports, as well as certain international airports, namely in Indonesia (Jakarta), Singapore, Malaysia, China (Kunming), and Laos (Vientiane). As it’s the first airport in Lao Cai, it is very much awaited by companies in the province, especially those operating in tourism.

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