Hanoi to have second airport by 2050

Hanoi is considering a second airport for the “capital region” that will begin construction in 2040 and open to commercial traffic 10 years later.

Per a resolution approved Friday by the municipal People’s Council, adjustments will be made to the city’s master plan (by 2045 with vision until 2065).

The new airport will be located to the south of Hanoi, meeting development needs of the capital city, the “capital region,” and the country as a whole.

It will connect with the capital city’s Phu Xuyen area, slated for development under the airport urban area model, forming a comprehensive service center for air and rail transportation and a southern gateway.

The capital region’s second airport is set to serve only domestic flights, according to the master plan.

Previously, Hanoi authorities had studied a few locations for the capital region’s second airport, including Ly Nhan district in Ha Nam province; Ung Hoa district in the south of Hanoi; Thanh Mien and Binh Giang districts in Hai Duong province; or Tien Lang district in Hai Phong city.

The locations are all between 35 and 65 kilometers from Hanoi's center, apart from Hai Phong, which is 120 kilometers away and already has its own Cat Bi airport.

According to the national airport system planning in the 2021-2030 period with a vision to 2050, Vietnam is set to have 30 airports by 2030, including 14 serving international flights and 16 serving domestic flights. The investment is estimated at about VND420 trillion ($18 billion), mobilized from the state budget, non-budget capital and other legal capital sources.

The city's current international airport, Noi Bai, has been overloaded since 2017. The airport was originally designed to handle 25 million passengers per year, but the number of passengers and cargo passing through it has been increasing by an average 10% per year to nearly 26 million passengers in 2018 and about 29 million in 2019.

Friday’s resolution also mentions the establishment of cities within the capital city with distinct policies and mechanisms for the western region (Hoa Lac and Xuan Mai districts), the northern region (Dong Anh, Me Linh and Soc Son districts) and the southern region (Phu Xuyen and Ung Hoa districts).

The resolution calls for conditions be created to promote the development of functional areas in science and technology, education and training, trade and services; logistics; international trade and finance.

In its central urban area, Hanoi will restore and upgrade the unique architecture of its "French Street" and also set up a national financial and trade center. Priority will be given to underground space development, including an underground commercial street starting at the Hanoi station and another running along Tran Hung Dao street which are connected to the Red River spatial axis.