Fresh proposals made in national airport system draft

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has just sent a report to the Ministry of Transport (MoT) on the results of reviewing the national airport system development master plan for the period from 2021-2030.

This is latest draft plan after the state-owned aviation management authority (CAAV) and the consulting unit Transport Engineering Design Inc. (TEDI) received guidance from the MoT and worked with relevant localities.

Phan Thiet Airport in Binh Thuan province

The latest point in this draft is a proposal to supplement the planning with two domestic airports, Thanh Son in Ninh Thuan province and Bien Hoa in Dong Nai province in the south.

Accordingly, from 2021-2030 Thanh Son would have a capacity of 1.5 million passengers per year, increasing to three million passengers per year by 2050, meanwhile Bien Hoa airport would have a capacity of five million passengers per year, increasing to 10 million by 2050.

“The condition for converting Thanh Son and Bien Hoa current military airports into dual-use operation following the airport model is attracting investors for building these airports with social capital,” said Dinh Viet Thang, head of the CAAV.

The CAAV said that it has worked with the people's committees of the relevant provinces on adding their new airport planning to the national airport network planning scheme and have reported the working results to the MoT.

For the group of localities that have military airports, the CAAV proposes to continue surveying and evaluating the ability to convert existing military airports into dual-use airport model, including Yen Bai and Gia Lam airports and report to the prime minister for consideration when having necessary,

For the group of localities currently not having airports, the CAAV proposes to continue surveying and evaluating the possibility of planning new airports in the localities with long-term potential for development of tourism, services, and report to the PM for consideration.

Notably, the CAAV recommends updating the land area of ​​airports based on the aforesaid research in the national airport system planning records.

After the update, the total planned land area of ​​airports in the national airport system master plan in the period to 2030 will increase from 20,378ha to 23,831ha

If the proposals are approved from 2021-2030, the country will accommodate 30 airports, including 14 international airports.

Two domestic airports that have never appeared in previous plans, Thanh Son and Bien Hoa, will be formed from the conversion of Thanh Son and Bien Hoa current military airports to dual-use operation following the airport model.

From 2021 to 2030, the planned position of Haiphong International Airport will be maintained in Tien Lang district, Haiphong city, as approved by the PM.

“The location and planning criteria of the second airport in Hanoi to support Noi Bai International Airport will be studied and determined before 2030, and the planning criteria of Haiphong International Airport will be studied and determined in the period after 2030,” said the CAAV leader.

The total investment in the development of the airport system by 2030 is estimated at $17.4 billion, to be mobilised from the state budget, and other capital sources.

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