ACV to upgrade Noi Bai terminal T1

Domestic terminal T1 at Noi Bai International Airport in Ha Noi. This terminal will be upgraded to meet aviation market growth. - Photo vov.vn

In a document recently sent to the Ministry of Transport, the company said it would expand the area of the terminal and repair the staircases, check-in desks and luggage conveyor belts.

The work will begin next June and be finished within two years, helping to increase the capacity of the terminal to serve about 15 million passengers a year instead of the current nine million.

"This is needed to meet rapid growth of the aviation market and assure the quality of passenger services at Noi Bai International Airport by 2018," a representative of the ACV reportedly said.

"It is possible that the terminal will not be able to meet necessary exploitative requirements in the coming months without the upgrade," the representative added.

The passenger throughput at T1 is expected to reach 12 million in 2015, after hitting nearly 10 million during the first nine months of the year, according to the company.

T1 currently has an area of 115,000 square metres with 100 check-in desks, six luggage conveyor belts and 19 boarding gates.

International terminal T2 at Noi Bai began operations a year ago with an investment capital of $900 million, with the capability of handling some 10 million passengers each year.

Noi Bai is an important airport linking air routes from Europe, Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia and the Asia Pacific. Thirty-six domestic and international airlines are operating here, with an average 340 flights per day.

The ACV has VND22.43 trillion ($996.89 million) in charter capital. It was designated by the government this year to develop the Long Thanh airport, which will be located in southern Dong Nai Province to handle up to 100 million passengers a year when it is fully completed by 2050.

The company launched an initial public offering on December 10, and plans to offer strategic investors a stake of 20 per cent.