The Ministry of Transport has announced a plan to upgrade and expand Vietnam’s international airports, with four located in the south, two in the north and four in the central region.

Accordingly, Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City, which now has the largest number of passengers - about 10 million a year - will have its aprons, and cargo terminals enlarged and an air traffic control tower built.

The government has approved a new international airport project for Phu Quoc, which will get underway at the end of this year. Once operational, the airport will be able to receive 7 million passengers annually.

The Long Thanh airport project in the southern province of Dong Nai is considered the largest. It is designed for an annual capacity of up to 100 million passengers and five million tonnes of cargo, covering an area of 5,000 hectares and costing as much as US$5 billion. Once put into operation, the airport will serve as a transit hub for international passengers in the region.

Under the Transport Ministry’s plan, there will be two airports, one in Cam Ranh, Nha Trang city, and another in Chu Lai, Quang Nam province, in addition to the previously announced airports in the central cities of Da Nang and Hue.

Da Nang airport already hosts both domestic and foreign flights while Phu Bai airport in Hue is seeking co-operation with Singapore to establish international service. In the meantime, Cam Ranh airport is building new terminals, a control tower and a night-time lighting system and is expected to be recognized as an international airport this year.

The government has approved a long-term plan for Noi Bai airport in Hanoi to develop until 2025. This airport currently hosts seven million passengers each year. Under the plan it will be able to receive 30 million passengers per year and accommodate 44 planes by 2025.

In the long term, its airside will be expanded southward, with new runways to receive large planes such as A380’s and B777’s, and aprons able to accommodate as many as 88 planes.

The Cat Bi airport in the northern port city of Hai Phong will be enlarged by 500 hectares at a cost of more than VND1.7 billion to receive two million passengers and 17,000 tonnes of cargo annually. (VOVNews)