Can Tho airport logistics center included in new master plan

A logistics center at Can Tho International Airport in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho has been included in a new national airport development master plan for 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050.

Under the plan signed by Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha on Wednesday, Vietnam will build logistics centers capable of handling 250,000 tons of cargo a year to serve Noi Bai airport in Hanoi, Tan Son Nhat in Ho Chi Minh City, Van Don in Quang Ninh, Cat Bi in Hai Phong, Danang in Danang city, Chu Lai in Quang Nam province, Long Thanh in Dong Nai province, and Can Tho.

An international transshipment logistics center will also be developed at Chu Lai airport.

Aircraft maintenance and repair centers will be built at airports in need, with priority given to large airports with good infrastructure serving international routes such as Noi Bai, Danang, Tan Son Nhat, Chu Lai, Cam Ranh, Can Tho and Long Thanh. A major regional aircraft repair center will be based at Chu Lai airport.

Flight training centers to meet domestic and regional needs will be based at airports with low traffic and favorable terrain and weather conditions; and that are more than 50 kilometers from border areas, with priority given to Chu Lai (Quang Nam province), Rach Gia (Kien Giang province) and Ca Mau (Ca Mau province) airports.

Regarding the Can Tho logistics center project, according to municipal leaders, the city's People's Committee has approved Sovico Group’s proposal to develop a 1,650-hectare logistics and aviation industry center on Vo Van Kiet street in Binh Thuy district, adjacent to Can Tho airport.

According to a representative of Vietnam Airlines, in 2017, the volume of goods from the Mekong Delta through Tan Son Nhat international airport reached over 70,000 tons. The export turnover of seafood, fruit and vegetables by air in the region from 2015-2017 increased over 20% per year.

Therefore, investing in a logistics center in Can Tho to serve the whole region has been deemed necessary, contributing to improving the quality of agricultural products for export and reducing the cost and time of transporting goods to Tan Son Nhat airport.

Dang Phuc Nguyen, general secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, said Vietnam ranks third in the ASEAN region for fruit exports after the Philippines and Thailand. If the country delivers proper investment, it could become the region's number one exporter in the near future, he added.

Vietnam is currently operating 22 out of its 23 planned airports. Under the master plan, the number of airports in Vietnam will rise to 30 by 2030 and to 33 by 2050.

By 2030, Vietnamese airports are set to serve 275.9 million passengers, or 1.5-2% of the total travellers in the country, and 4.1 million tons of cargo, or 0.05-0.1% of the total.

In the first four months of this year, 22 airports in Vietnam served 37 million passengers, up 55% year-on-year, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV). The figure included 9.7 million international passengers, up 976% year-on-year, and 27.2 million domestic travelers, up 18%.

However, cargo transport declined 24.3% year-on-year to 378,400 tons, including 272,000 tons on international routes, down 32.1%.