The project on building Long Thanh International Airport in the southernprovince of Dong Nai has received particular interest, with the Party’s13th Central Committee’s 11th plenum deeming it a national project ofspecial importance and the National Assembly’s 9th session embracing itsimplementation.
The airport, set to become aninternational aviation hub, is expected to meeting the rapid growth ofthe aviation market, serving socio-economic development in the southernkey economic region, thus enabling the country to make the most of itseconomic and tourism advantages.
The southern keyeconomic region with Ho Chi Minh City as the gateway, now accountsfor 46 percent of the national passenger volume. The Ho Chi MinhCity-based Tan Son Nhat international airport has been operating at fullcapacity – 20 million passengers per year- since 2013 and is now beingupgraded to raise its capacity to 25 million passengers per year.However, it is forecast that Tan Son Nhat will become overloaded in2017.
According to the Ministry of Transport, theupgrade of Tan Son Nhat airport to handle 40-50 million passengers isunfeasible, because it needs a vast area of 641ha in Tan Binh, Go Vapand Phu Nhuan districts and a lofty cost of about 9.1 billion USD,exclusive of expenses for reconstruction of technical and transportinfrastructure.
Another alternative - expansion ofBien Hoa military airport and increased utilisation of some airports inthe south is also less viable since they play separate roles in eacheconomic region and ensuring national defence and security, the ministrysaid.
Meanwhile, Long Thanh airport will lie at theheart of Southeast Asia, a good location to serve the transition ofpassengers and cargo.
In addition, Vietnam,with a population of more than 90 million, is forecast to see rapidgrowth in air passengers. The International Civil Aviation Organisation(ICAO) said that Vietnam will rank third among 10 Asia-Pacificcountries to see the highest number of air passengers. This is anadvantage for Long Thanh airport in competing against other facilitiesin the region.
Therefore, the investment in Long Thanh airport is urgent and necessary, experts said.-VNA
The airport, set to become aninternational aviation hub, is expected to meeting the rapid growth ofthe aviation market, serving socio-economic development in the southernkey economic region, thus enabling the country to make the most of itseconomic and tourism advantages.
The southern keyeconomic region with Ho Chi Minh City as the gateway, now accountsfor 46 percent of the national passenger volume. The Ho Chi MinhCity-based Tan Son Nhat international airport has been operating at fullcapacity – 20 million passengers per year- since 2013 and is now beingupgraded to raise its capacity to 25 million passengers per year.However, it is forecast that Tan Son Nhat will become overloaded in2017.
According to the Ministry of Transport, theupgrade of Tan Son Nhat airport to handle 40-50 million passengers isunfeasible, because it needs a vast area of 641ha in Tan Binh, Go Vapand Phu Nhuan districts and a lofty cost of about 9.1 billion USD,exclusive of expenses for reconstruction of technical and transportinfrastructure.
Another alternative - expansion ofBien Hoa military airport and increased utilisation of some airports inthe south is also less viable since they play separate roles in eacheconomic region and ensuring national defence and security, the ministrysaid.
Meanwhile, Long Thanh airport will lie at theheart of Southeast Asia, a good location to serve the transition ofpassengers and cargo.
In addition, Vietnam,with a population of more than 90 million, is forecast to see rapidgrowth in air passengers. The International Civil Aviation Organisation(ICAO) said that Vietnam will rank third among 10 Asia-Pacificcountries to see the highest number of air passengers. This is anadvantage for Long Thanh airport in competing against other facilitiesin the region.
Therefore, the investment in Long Thanh airport is urgent and necessary, experts said.-VNA
