Ninh Thuan province to transform military airbase into civil airport

Ninh Thuan authorities are seeking government permission to be the state agency in charge of the Thanh Son airport investment under the public-private partnership (PPP) format.

Provincial authorities sent their proposal to the Prime Minister after the national airport plan for 2021-2030 with a vision to 2050 was approved on June 7. Under the plan, the Thanh Son military airbase will be converted to a domestic civil airport.

Ninh Thuan province said the airport would help remove traffic deadlocks in the south-central province, providing new driving forces for socioeconomic growth, security and defense.

According to the national airport plan, Thanh Son, as a domestic airport, could serve 1.5 million passengers a year, then expand to three million from 2030-2050, and could also serve irregular international flights. In case the airport can consistently serve regular international flights, provincial authorities would cooperate with the Ministry of Transport to seek permission to convert it into an international one.

The 22-square kilometer Thanh Son airport would cater for Airbus A321 planes and aircraft of similar sizes, said Nguyen Van Vinh, director of Ninh Thuan's Department of Transport.

Ninh Thuan currently does not have a civilian airport. The nearest one is Cam Ranh International Airport in the central province of Khanh Hoa, about 80 kilometers away, or a one-hour journey.

As a tourism hub in central Vietnam, Ninh Thuan welcomes about 2.3 million visitors a year, and the figure could grow to 3.5 million in 2025 and five million in 2030, according to provincial data.

Ninh Thuan is aiming to become a national energy hub by raising its capacity by 3,000 MW to 6,500 MW in 2025, according to provincial authorities. The figure includes 3,440 MW from solar power, 1,200 MW from wind power, 360 MW from hydropower, and 1,500 MW from LNG, with a total output of 11.2 billion kWh. The target for 2030 is to raise the capacity by an additional 5,300 MW to 11,800 MW.