ACV may become investor of Dien Bien Phu Airport

ACV is submitting a rival bid to Vietjet to expand Dien Bien Phu Airport

According to a recent document published by the Ministry of Transport (MoT), Minister Nguyen Van The asked the Committee for Management of State Capital (CMSC) to assign ACV to submit a detailed expansion plan for Dien Bien Phu Airport.

ACV has to complete the procedures for the implementation of the expanded airport to submit the relevant paperwork to authorities for approval, while at the same time, the MoT will propose the prime minister to assign ACV to develop the project after collecting the opinion of Dien Bien People’s Committee and CMSC.

“ACV will have to co-operate with the Vietnam Aviation Department and other authorities to build a comprehensive plan for the project with the expectation to start construction by the end of 2020,” the document stated.

The MoT also asked Dien Bien province to submit a document outlining the funds that will be allocated to the project from the provincial budget.

According to Decision No.2501/2017 approving the revised plan for Dien Bien Phu Airport, the airport will serve both civil and military purposes. By 2020, the airport is expected to have an annual capacity of 300,000 passengers and 500 tonnes of cargo and an apron that can accommodate three A320 and A321 aircraft.

By 2030, the capacity will be increased to two million passengers and 10,000 tonnes of cargo, and the apron will be able to provide parking space for six aircraft.

The total investment capital for the project will be VND4.46 trillion ($193.91 million), including VND2.24 trillion ($97.39 million) for building the terminal and flight area, and VND1.1 trillion ($47.83 million) for land clearance.

Previously, both Vietjet and ACV submit documents to the MoT and the Dien Bien People’s Committee to express interest in developing the project. ACV claims they have arranged enough capital to develop comprehensive infrastructure for the project, including a flight and civil aviation area, fully in compliance with the planning of the project.

Meanwhile, Vietjet proposed sourcing over VND1.85 trillion ($80.43 million) from the state budget (41.5 per cent of the capital) and contributing nearly VND2.61 trillion ($113.48 million) (or 58.5 per cent) from its own equity. The Dien Bien People’s Committee is in charge of land clearance and resettlement and constructing the runway.

Regarding the terminal segment, Vietjet proposed developing it under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.