Deputy PM requests overall plan for Con Dao airport upgrade

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha has requested the Ministry of Transport to prepare an overall investment plan for the upgrade and expansion of Con Dao Airport offshore the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

Concluding a recent meeting, Ha emphasized the urgent need to invest in upgrading and expanding Con Dao Airport on Con Dao Island, including runways, passenger terminals, taxiways and other ancillary works to make it a national airport.

The People’s Committee of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province was urged to actively attract investors; make an investment study and assessment of economic and technical efficiency and fund-raising ability.

It should develop a project calling for private capital sources in the form of public-private partnership to serve the airport expansion, the deputy PM said.

After completing procedures, the People’s Committee and the Ministry of Transport will propose the Prime Minister assign the former as the competent agency in charge of implementing the project in accordance with the law, he said, adding the transport ministry is responsible for urging, guiding, inspecting and supervising in the implementation process.

Con Dao Airport is currently a level 3C airport according to International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards. The passenger terminal was put into operation in 2005 with a designed capacity of 400,000 passengers per year.

Currently, the airport is only served by Vietnam Airlines and Bamboo Airways with ATR72 and Embraer E195 aircraft.

According to the existing plan, the airport is set to serve 500,000 passengers a year by 2025. However, it had already served 447,750 passengers in 2020, even amidst the complications of Covid-19. With the expected average passenger growth of 22.7% a year, the airport would be overloaded soon, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam.

Con Dao off the coast of Ba Ria-Vung Tau in southern Vietnam is comprised of 16 islands and islets. It has a diverse marine ecosystem and rich history, making it one of the top destinations for local and foreign tourists.

The islands are home to jails dating back to the French colonial and Vietnam war periods. The jail system was first built in 1861 by the French to imprison those considered a threat to the colonial regime. Over 100 years, some 20,000 revolutionaries and other patriots were jailed, tortured, or killed at the site, which is now a special national relic.