Search for investor in Phan Thiet airport upgrade project continues

Binh Thuan province's search for a new investor in the Phan Thiet airport upgrade project under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) format continues as the province struggles to find suitable candidates.

The struggle is to find an investor with experience in building airports, said Binh Thuan Vice Chairman Nguyen Minh at a recent press conference.

Minh clarified that major industry and construction corporation Rang Dong Group was the investor of the initial BOT project to upgrade Phan Thiet airport to a 4C level, per planning granted in 2013. The project, which kicked off in January 2015, was set to welcome one million passengers a year.

Later, a further upgrade to level 4E at the civil-military airport was approved to expand capacity to two million passengers a year, in line with a suggestion from Binh Thuan province and the Ministry of National Defense.

After the plan was updated, a review was needed to establish whether Rang Dong Group could continue or if another investor was needed.

Binh Thuan has completed site clearance for the project and the construction of military components is expected to be finished by September 30, Minh noted.

The project's cost for BOT components has increased from VND1,693 billion ($72.2 million) to VND4,812 billion ($205.2 million) under the new plan, Minh added.

Binh Thuan welcomed 5.72 million visitors in 2022, triple that in 2021, according to the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism. As a result, the south-central coastal province’s tourism revenue tripled to VND13.68 trillion ($582.4 million), exceeding the year target by 29%.

Van Don International Airport in the northern province of Quang Ninh is currently the only BOT airport in Vietnam. It is invested, constructed, and operated by private firm Sun Group, known as one of Vietnam's top real estate developers. The 4E-level airport was put into operation in December 2018 with a capacity of 2.5 million passengers a year.