ACV seeks contractors to expand Dien Bien airport in northern Vietnam

The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) has announced its plan to select contractors to expand the Dien Bien airport in Dien Bien province, with a total investment of more than VND1,467 billion ($62.24 million).

Dien Bien is the only airport in northwestern Vietnam which includes six provinces, namely Dien Bien, Hoa Binh, Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Son La and Yen Bai.

According to the plan, contractors will be selected for 12 bidding packages in the first and second quarters of 2023.

These include a bidding package for construction, supply and installation of equipment for the passenger terminal and ancillary works ($6.24 million); and a digital bidding package for construction, supply and installation of camera systems, lighting security fences ($925,000), etc.

In September 2022, the state-run ACV announced the results of the selection of construction contractors for work on runways, taxiways, and aprons under the airport expansion project.

ACV plans to temporarily close the airport for 6-7 months, starting from the end of March 2023, to carry out the project.

The corporation is expected to complete the phase 2 construction of the security fence in June 2023; and work of runways, taxiways, and aprons by December 2023.

Previously, on January 22, 2022, the expansion project was started by ACV, the Ministry of Transport and the People's Committee of Dien Bien province.

The Dien Bien airport was restored from the Muong Thanh airport built by the French in the colonial times. Currently, the airport has one runway and three aircraft parking positions. Its passenger terminal was built in 2004 with a capacity of 300,000 passengers per year.

Due to the mountains at both ends of the runway and simple infrastructure, the airport can only operate small turboprop aircraft like the ATR 72 and small jet aircraft like the Embraer 190 during the day when weather conditions permit.

On March 27, 2021, the Prime Minister approved in principle the expansion project. The expanded airport will meet technical standards for modern aircraft like the A320 and A321, with its terminal handling from 500,000 to 1 million passengers per year in phase 1.

Dien Bien Phu town in Dien Bien province is world-famous for the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, a fight between the French Union's colonial Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries.

The Dien Bien Phu Victory of 1954 crushed the French colonialists and the United States, forcing the French government to sign the Geneva Agreement in July 1954, recognising independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the three Indochinese countries, ending Vietnam's long-lasting resistance war.

At the same time, it ended the domination of French colonialism that lasted for centuries, and opened a new development step for the revolution of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.