$1.25 bln Danang airport upgrade to handle 30 mln passengers

The central city of Danang plans to mobilize VND30,999 billion ($1.25 billion) for upgrading and tripling its airport’s capacity to 30 million passengers a year by 2050.

In a proposal sent to the Ministry of Transport, the central city says the current overload is degrading airport facilities. The plan is to have it serve 25 million passengers annually by 2030. By 2050, it would be able to handle 30 million passengers and 200,000 tons of goods a year.

To achieve these targets, municipal authorities want to build a new airstrip, expand the apron to 92 positions, enlarge domestic terminal (T1), build a new 15-million passenger terminal (T3), and construct new cargo terminals.

The airport is set to serve E-class aircraft or below, like the Boeing 747, 777, 787, Airbus 320, 321 and 350. It can also function as reserve destinations for level-1 military aircraft and F-class planes, such as the Boeing 747-8.

Many localities in Vietnam eye private investment in airports, with Phu Cat in Binh Dinh the latest name to receive the Ministry of Transport's support. Earlier, the south-central province said it plans to upgrade its airport into an international facility with an annual capacity of five million passengers in 2030 and 12 million in 2050.

In September, the Prime Minister set up a working group to study private investment in Na San airport in the northern province of Son La, Vinh airport in the central province of Nghe An, Chu Lai airport in the central province of Quang Nam, and Can Tho airport in the southern city of Can Tho.

In June, the central province of Thanh Hoa proposed the upgrade of Tho Xuan airport in private-public partnership (PPP) format, in order to ease the expected overload of serving 1.4 million passengers in 2022, beyond its capacity of 1.2 million passengers.

In March, the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, known for Da Lat town as a major tourism attraction, suggested the expansion of Lien Khuong airport to five million passengers a year with a mobilization of VND4,300 billion ($173.63 million) per PPP format.

The central province of Quang Binh also eyes private investment in Dong Hoi airport, as soon as the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) announced it could not allocate resources for its project of investing VND2,200 billion ($88.83 million) to upgrade the airport.