Aviation authority adds 2 airports to draft planning

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has added Thanh Son and Bien Hoa military airbases to the draft airport planning for 2030, with vision until 2050.

Per the draft planning, Thanh Son Airport at Thanh Son airbase in the south-central coastal province of Ninh Thuan is set to annually serve 1.5 million passengers in 2030 and three million in 2050.

Currently, Ninh Thuan has no civil airport and the popular path is to go via Cam Ranh Airport in the nearby province of Khanh Hoa.

Transport Engineering Design Incorporated (TEDI), a consultant in the drafting of the planning, said the Thanh Son airport can help improve socioeconomic growth and tourism and would play a key role in national defense.

Bien Hoa airbase in the southern Dong Nai province is planned to serve 10 million passengers a year, easing the workload of two nearby airports, which are Long Thanh under construction in Dong Nai, and Tan Son Nhat in Ho Chi Minh City.

TEDI said Bien Hoa airbase is unlikely to expand anymore due to the urbanization of surrounding areas. Besides, the airbase is under a dioxin detoxification project until 2025, it said, adding that civil construction must be located in clean areas.

Per the draft planning, the number of civil airports in Vietnam will rise to 33 in 2050. Previously, the CAAV proposed the addition of nine airports to the planning.

The nine airports are in the northern provinces of Ha Giang, Yen Bai, Tuyen Quang; central provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Ngai, Khanh Hoa; Central Highlands provinces of Kon Tum and Dak Nong; and the southern province of Tay Ninh.