US airport developer to touch down in Cam Ranh

Cam Ranh airport is the gateway to Nha Trang’s spectacular tourism charms, Photo: Le Toan

In a recent meeting with the Ministry of Planning and Investment, an ADC-HAS Airports representative said the firm was working with Airports Corporation of Vietnam to set up a joint venture to expand the central Khanh Hoa province airport, a gateway to the famous Nha Trang coastal tourism destination.

ADC-HAS Airports is a consortium between HAS Development Corporation, the development affiliate of the Houston Airport System, Airport Development Corporation of Canada, and OMERS Strategic Investments. The firm has also been developing and operating Quito airport in Ecuador, San Jose airport and Liberia airport in Costa Rica.

The firm started studying Vietnam aviation infrastructure investment options in 2010, with an initial proposal to invest into seven airports in central region under public-private partnership form.

“We hope this will be our first project in Vietnam, that would set foundation for the expansion to other projects,” said the representative.

At this time, ADC-HAS Airports gained support from Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a US government development finance institution, for funding its investment in Vietnam.

An OPIC representative, who accompanied ADC-HAS Airports to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, said OPIC could finance $250 million for ADC-HAS Airports’ project in Vietnam if the project was effective and the financial institution wanted to expand its business in Vietnam through funding other ADC-HAS Airports projects. At this time, OPIC is funding two ADC-HAS Airports’ projects in Ecuador and Costa Rica.

Vietnam has 24 airports and  most need to be upgraded to meet growing air transportation demand, a source of great potential to foreign investors.

Apart from ADC-HAS Airports, another United States’ airport investor Airis Holdings also plans to invest into Danang airport and Noi Bai airport in Hanoi under the public-private partnership form. Korean JOINUS Company Ltd is studying to build an international airport in northern Quang Ninh province’s Van Don district.