Airports for growth market
The aviation industry is
proceeding with a series of
projects to upgrade and expand
Vietnam's airports in anticipation
of the high growth of the domestic
aviation market, estimated at
15% annually between now and
2005 and 9% per year through
2010.
Upgrading and modernizing three major airports. According to analysis
by the aviation industry, large investments have been poured into
modernizing and increasing the capacity of the Noi Bai, Tan Son Nhat
and Danang airports, the three largest and most important among
airports under commercial operations in Vietnam. Construction of the
modern T1 passenger terminal in Noi Bai Airport has just been
completed, able to receive four million passengers annually. The
capacity of Tan Son Nhat Airport has been increased to five million from
three million passengers a year and two runways have been upgraded
to be able to accommodate all kinds of aircraft.
Since Noi Bai Airport has only one runway, which will be inconvenient
when the number of aircraft landings increases, aviation authorities have
decided to build another, the 1B. Work on the runway is being
accelerated so that it can be completed by July 2003, in time to
accommodate more aircraft arrivals during the SEA Games 2003.
Another important project is construction of a new cargo terminal to meet
the increasing demand for import and export transport. The terminal is
scheduled for completion in 2005 when the aviation industry expects to
put into operation a fleet of commercial cargo transport aircraft.
Tan Son Nhat Airport is facing imminent overload as the number of
passengers is increasing rapidly. Therefore, aviation authorities are
urgently preparing plans to build a new terminal capable of receiving
seven million passengers a year. The project will cost some US$240
million, with US$200 million provided by Japanese Government credits at
a preferential interest rate of 1% per annum. It is due to open in 2006.
Danang, one of the three international airports in Central Vietnam, has two
runways capable of receiving various kinds of aircraft but it still lacks a
large, modern passenger terminal. According to forecasts by the aviation
industry, the aviation market in Central Vietnam will grow with the increase
in tourist arrivals and the development of major economic projects in the
neighboring regions. To meet the demand, the authorities have
submitted to the Government a feasibility study for a modern terminal
capable of receiving four million passengers a year. They are seeking
funds from various sources to develop the project, estimated to cost
US$70 million.
Upgrading Chu Lai and Cam Ranh airports. According to Ms. Nguyen
Thanh Ha, deputy director of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam
in charge of planning and investment, a VND60-billion project to upgrade
the infrastructure of Chu Lai Airport (building terminals and repairing
runways) has been approved. Upon operation in mid 2003, the airport will
serve tourists, and experts working in Dung Quat IP and the open
economic zone, and the transport of industrial equipment and goods. In
the first years of operation, the airport may serve commercial purposes
but an appropriate number of flights should be taken into account. For the
long-term, the aviation industry is drafting a big, capital extensive plan to
develop Chu Lai into a major international airport for better operation in
the context of the development of the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone,
Dung Quat Petroleum Refinery Complex and neighboring industrial
parks.
Aviation authorities are also studying the possibility of commercial
operation of Cam Ranh Airport pending the Party and Government top
leaders' decision on the operational purpose for the airport.
Other airports. Apart from the major airports mentioned above, Ha says
three airports that are considered as having fast development potential in
the future are Phu Bai (Hue), Cat Bi (Haiphong) and Lien Khuong (Dalat).
These airports do not have international scales but the Government has
allowed them to receive foreign aircraft in case of need to serve both
domestic and international transport. Phu Bai Airport has already
received international flights to serve tourists. However, as the airport has
great potential for development, aviation authorities are considering
enlarging the terminal.
The authorities are also weighing the possibility of enlarging the runway
and terminal of Lien Khuong Airport and the terminal of Cat Bi Airport. A
Chinese airline has proposed operating flights to Cat Bi to serve tourists
visiting Ha Long Bay.
Another airport under consideration for upgrading is Dien Bien in the
northwest region of Vietnam. Lao aviation authorities want to operate
flights to Dien Bien to serve tourism and commerce.
Plans for upgrading Ca Mau Airport in the southern tip of Vietnam are also
in the pipeline to serve the transport of passengers and export agro and
fisheries products.
"Many new red points have been added to the national airport system to
prepare for the development of public aviation services in the future.
They are essential for the future development of the aviation industry.
However, our investment policy is efficiency, no wastefulness and
satisfaction of demand," Ha noted.
By Cao Cuong - The Saigon Times Weekly - June 29, 2002.
Chu Lai airport vital to regional economic development
Nguyen Xuan Phuc, chairman, Quang Nam Province
The Government has endorsed a proposal by the
Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) and
Vietnam Airlines to re-open Chu Lai Airport so that it
can accommodate the first flight after 1975 by the
second quarter of next year. This is good news, not
only for Quang Nam Province but also for Quang
Ngai, north of Binh Dinh and Gia Lai, especially Dung
Quat IP and Chu Lai Open Economic Zone.
In the immediate future, the bulk of passengers using
Chu Lai Airport will be experts and personnel working
in Dung Quat IP and Chu Lai Open Economic Zone, as well as people in
southern Quang Nam and Quang Ngai provinces. But in the long run, Chu
Lai will become a cargo transshipment airport. It will also serve
international tourists who come to explore the local tourist sites, including
two World Cultural Heritage sites.
Chu Lai Airport is surely a crucial item in the development plan for Dung
Quat IP, and is the pivotal phase in the development of Chu Lai Open
Economic Zone. The restoration of Chu Lai will put into operation again
the infrastructure of an old airport that requires an enormous funding if we
were to build it now. Chu Lai will also facilitate domestic cargo
transportation as well as export.
For Chu Lai to be operational by
the second quarter of next year,
we will have to build a terminal,
and reinstall the communications
network. Quang Nam Province is
building some infrastructure
works outside the airport such as
the road system and the power
grid.
We hope both the CAAV and
Vietnam Airlines will make an
all-out effort to restore Chu Lai so
that the airport will work in line with
the schedule.
Opening time: the second quarter
of 2003
Trinh Ngoc Thanh, vice head, Market Management Board, Vietnam
Airlines
Quang Nam and Quang Ngai provinces constitute part of the vital
economic zone in Central Vietnam. They are the gateway to Dung Quat
IP and Chu Lai Open Economic Zone. Therefore, a direct flight to Chu Lai
will make the provinces more attractive in terms of investment and
tourism, contributing to socio-economic development in the region.
Chu Lai has the potential to become an important international
transshipment airport, as it is favorable geographically. It is only 100km
away from Danang International Airport and is on the upgraded
trans-Vietnam Highway 1A.
In the long run, the restoration of Chu Lai is part of the Government's
comprehensive plan for airport development. In April, the CAAV
forwarded a report to the Government, asking for permission to reinstate
Chu Lai for civil aviation activities in the second quarter of 2003. Our
proposal was approved by the Government Office.
Although Chu Lai was once a military airport during the war, the facilities
that can be used after minor repairs are only the runway and the apron.
We have to build the terminal, and the power and communications
systems. We will try our best to keep the work progress on schedule.
Currently, the local demand for air transport in the vicinity of Chu Lai
Airport is not high, but we expect it to soar in the future.
Initially, there will
be three flights a week linking HCM City with Chu Lai, using ATR-72 or
Fokker 70 aircraft. Later we will consider flights of bigger jetliners such as
A320s to Chu Lai, as well as those connecting Hanoi and Chu Lai.
The Saigon Times Weekly - June 29, 2002.
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