Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport (MoT) has called for investments to renovate six commercial airports in the country, stating that Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) would be a key scheme for the plan.
In a report recently submitted to the government, the Ministry listed six airports to be upgraded in order to facilitate local development, namely Na San Airport in the northern province of Son La; Vinh, Chu Lai, and Tho Xuan Airports in the central provinces of Nghe An, Quang Nam, and Thanh Hoa; Lien Khuong Airport in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong; and Can Tho Airport in the eponymous city in southern Vietnam.
According to the MoT, the renovation will allow these local airports to accommodate larger aircrafts, handle more passengers, and expand cargo operations. The works include the construction of new terminals, runway extension, and additional parking lots.
The MoT will prepare a detailed plan for the upgrade and gather feedback from other government bodies and local authorities before submitting to the central government for approval. According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), a ministry-affiliated organization, a massive amount of funding will be required to execute the plan, prompting the mobilization of private investment as a key resource.
The construction on Sa Pa Airport, located in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai, started in August 2021. The project is under the PPP format and costs USD 155.8 million, including around USD 27 million in state budgets. Similarly, in 2021, the government gave its preliminary approval for the PPP proposal to build Quang Tri Airport in the namesake central province.
Vietnam has plans to increase the number of commercial airports to 28 by 2030 and 31 by 2050, from the current 22. The CAAV reports that the aviation industry carried 75 million passengers in the first nine months of 2022, an increase of 162.4% from the same period in 2021.
(Source: VNExpress)
