Vietnam moves on airport projects

DONG NAI  Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung endorsed, last week, an investment report on the construction of Long Thanh International Airport in the southern province of Dong Nai.
The report compiled by the Ministry of Transport and the State Assessment Council presents the case for a massive investment in the Long Thanh Airport that will ultimately become the country’s main aviation gateway.
Long Thanh International Airport will be located in Long Thanh district, a 50 km east of Ho Chi Minh City.
inside no 3During its first phase that is supposed to open in 2025, the 5,000-hectare terminal will be able to accommodate 25 million passengers and handle 1.2 million metric tons of cargo a year. It will take much of the strain off Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City that has already reached capacity limits.
By 2030 it will be able to serve 100 million passengers a year and by then it will take over as the country’s major international gateway.
The first phase of the project will cost an estimated USD7.83 billion.
The Prime Minister assigned Minister of Transport, Dinh La Thang, to report on the investment plan on behalf of the government to the National Assembly during the latter’s session this month.
Based on the presentations, the National Assembly will make the final decision on project.
In addition, a plan to build an airport in the south-central resort city of Phan Thiet also won in-principle approval from the Prime Minister.
The Phan Thiet airport will serve 500,000 passengers by 2020 and 1 million passengers by 2030.
The USD263.58-million airport should open in 2017.
Vietnam currently has 21 operating airports.
Many other airport projects are also planned, and some localities are slated to have as many as two airports, according to local news reports.

sourced:ttrweekly.com