Investors plan to fund Cam Ranh airport terminal

Existing terminal of Cam Ranh airport is often overloaded. Photo thanhnien.com.vn

Phu Long Real Estate Joint Stock Company, VietJet Aviation Joint Stock Company, HDBank and Investment Mining Port Corporation (Import Corp) are among the newest investors, according to a report in Dau Tu (Investment) newspaper.

Others include Aviation Logistics Corporation and Vietstar Airlines (from the aviation sector), Golf Long Thanh and Imex Pan Pacific Corporation (from the real estate sector) and Duc Binh Group, Viet Xuan Moi and Dai Dung (from the construction sector).

Dao Viet Dung, the deputy general director of Airports Corporation of Viet Nam, said in Dau Tu that this was the largest group of investors to have ever taken part in an aviation infrastructure project in the country.

The terminal project, to be managed as a BOT (built-operate-transfer) operation, is estimated to have investment capital of VND2 trillion (US$92 million).

The project will address the rapidly increasing number of passengers at the airport. The current 13,995 sq.m terminal has a capacity of 1.6 million passengers per year.

In 2013, the airport received more than 1.5 million passengers, but by 2014 passenger numbers had greatly exceeded capacity. The number of passengers has increased by 25 per cent per year.

The new terminal is expected to welcome 2 million international passengers per year.

The ACV said capital would be mobilised from domestic private companies through a BOT scheme or through a newly established joint-venture company which would have capital contributions from the ACV.

In order to ensure service quality, airlines that are shareholders would not be allowed to own more than 30 per cent of charter capital of the joint venture.

Founding shareholders (a minimum of three) of the joint venture, including ACV, would not be allowed to withdraw or transfer capital for five years after the establishment of the joint venture.