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The Vietnam News

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Vietnam's central region to lure more air traffic

HANOI - Vietnam is to introduce more incentives to encourage domestic and foreign airlines to open direct flights to airports in its central region, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV). The incentives include broader market access, policies encouraging all forms of co-operation, and a reduction in fees.

Central Vietnam has two international airports, Da Nang, named after its locality and Chu Lai in Quang Nam Province. The area also has five domestic airports: Phu Bai in Hue City, Cam Ranh in Khanh Hoa Province, Phu Cat in Binh Dinh Province, Pleiku in Gia Lai Province and Dong Tac in Phu Yen Province. Da Nang International Airport, one of the country's three main air gateways, can handle one million passengers a year. It plans to build a new terminal next year that will help double its annual capacity by 2007.

Meanwhile, Chu Lai Airport is being upgraded and is expected to open next year with an annual capacity of 3,000 passengers and a runway capable of receiving Boeing 747 aircraft. Chu Lai has been earmarked as a cargo entrepot for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Phu Bai Airport is currently capable of handling 6,000 passengers a year. It is expected to receive one million passengers by 2010 and five million passengers in the following 10 years. The Ministry of Transport plans to upgrade the Phu Cat and Dong Tac airports so they will be capable of handling 300,000-400,000 passengers annually by 2010. Vietnam's central region, stretching from Quang Binh to Khanh Hoa Province and including five Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) provinces, is home to four UNESCO-recognised world heritage sites: the former imperial city of Hue, the ancient town of Hoi An, the My Son relics in Da Nang City, and the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh Province. It is also famous for its beautiful beaches and scenery. Last year, the region received more than one million foreign visitors, mostly from Europe, northern America and northern Asia.

Meanwhile, in the southern Vietnam, a VND700 billion (US$44 million) project to upgrade the Can Tho Airport is expected to start early next year and open to traffic by 2007, said General Director of the Southern Airports Authority Nguyen Nguyen Hung. Hung said the airport will expand its runway to 3km long and 60m wide to welcome modern aircraft from both domestic and international airlines. Once completed, the airport terminal will accommodate up to 2 million passengers a year.

Vietnam News Agency - September 16, 2004.