New Hanoi airport terminal opens
HANOI - Hanoi's new airport, due to cost $102 million, was officially opened for business
Wednesday after more than four years of delays.
Hundreds of international and domestic travelers were already at ticket counters as Deputy Prime Minister
Nguyen Manh Cam and airport officials cut the inaugural ribbon.
The sleek three-story, red-roofed terminal was supposed to be finished by late 1997, in time for a Francophone
summit. Construction began in 1995.
However, the opening was delayed by redesigns and funding shortages, said Nguyen Tien Sam, director of the
Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam.
``We lacked professional experience in design work, and we lacked funding,'' he said. ``We didn't have the
experience.''
Other difficulties included the impact from the Asian economic crisis, which decreased tourism and investor
enthusiasm, he said.
The first phase of the airport, which included physical construction of the terminal, cost $76 million. The new
terminal can now accommodate 4 million passengers a year, double the capacity of the old airport.
A $26 million second phase, expected to be completed by 2005, will finish equipping the facility. Capacity will then
rise to 6 million passengers per year.
Currently, Vietnam receives slightly more than 2 million foreign visitors a year.
Following the terror attacks in the United States, Vietnam's airlines have also beefed up security measures, Sam
said.
Vietnam has tightened screening of all passengers and baggage, he said.
The Civil Aviation Administration is also considering a proposal for armed guards aboard flights, he said.
Vietnam has 16 airports, with Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhut Airport the largest, handling some 3.8 million
passengers annually.
The Associated Press - October 10, 2001.
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