Giant international airport forecast

Giant international airport forecast

A huge airport capable of handling 100 million passengers a year was needed in the south of Viet Nam, said Nguyen Nguyen Hung, chairman of the Airports Corporation of Viet Nam (ACV) on Thursday.

Hung told Viet Nam News that Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City was only designed to receive 25 million passengers per year and would be overloaded by 2020.

Hung said the corporation must start Long Thanh International Airport in the neighbouring province of Dong Nai, 35km from the centre of HCM City to ease the burden.

He said the first phase of the project needed US$7.8 billion to build and relocate 10,000 people from the site.

The corporation said 53 per cent of the capital for the airport was from the State funds and Official Development Assistance (ODA). The rest was from private sources.

Hung hoped the project would be approved by the National Assembly in October, adding that the Government could then ask for Japanese assistance so the project could start next year.

There was pessimism that the airport could be finished three or four years late, said the ACV chairman.

According to the ACV, investment in the airport can be compared to a likely $9.1 billion project to extend Tan Son Nhat Airport in HCM City or $7.5 billion to clear Bien Hoa Airport from dioxin contamination.

Hung also said that special financial and tax policies could be developed to attract private investors.

While there were also concerns that using Japanese ODA cost more than other funding, he said the ACV had no answer to the question.

The development of Long Thanh International Airport was initially adopted by the former Prime Minister in 2005.

In 2011, PM Nguyen Tan Dung approved a more detailed project for the airport. Spanning 25,000ha covering six communes in Dong Nai, it has been designed to be built in three phases.

The first, from 2014 to 2020, will have two runways catering to 25 million passengers a year. Phase two from 2020 to 2030 will be able to handle 50 million passengers - and the third phase, after 2030, will accommodate 100 million passengers a year on four runways.

Under the plan, Long Thanh will carry 80 per cent of international visitors and 20 per cent of domestic visitors while Tan Son Nhat will carry 20 per cent of international tourists and 80 per cent of local tourists to the city.

Under the PM's plan, the country will eventually have 26 airports, including 10 international and 16 domestic. At present, there are 21 airports.

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