"Vietnams biggest airport in the offing"

Thursday, June 24, 2004

Vietnams biggest airport in the offing
Vietnam - The Saigon Times Daily


HANOI - The civil aviation and transport authorities have discussed an
US$8-billion project to build what is seen as the countrys largest
airport in Long Thanh in the southern province of Dong Nai.

When in place, the Long Thanh Airport may replace the overloaded Tan Son
Nhat International Airport in HCMC, said Luu Trung Kien, head of general
affairs at the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV).

He told the Daily yesterday that the Ministry of Communications and
Transport, CAAV and other relevant Government agencies met in Hanoi on
Tuesday to chiefly discuss issues involving the location of the planned
airport.

The planned airport will cover 5,000 hectares and be able to handle
between 80 and 100 million passengers a year, 10 times more than the
current capacity of Tan Son Nhat.

Work on a detailed plan for the airport will not start until the
Government approves the location of the planned airport.

CAAV has predicted the southeastern region of the countrys south will
need another airport in the 2020s in which Tan Son Nhat will be
surrounded by residential areas due to fast urbanization, Kien said.

Asked where the capital for the project would come from, he said this
issue was not tabled at the meeting, which focused on discussions over
the airport location.

The meeting did not look into the selection of a design contractor
either, but he said that with such a capital-intensive project, a
foreign design contractor would be preferable.

At the meeting, CAAV proposed building the main entrance to the planned
airport opposite a proposed expressway linking Dong Nai Provinces Dau
Giay, Lam Dong Province and HCMC.

In a related development, work on a project to upgrade Dong Hoi Airport
in the central province of Quang Binh will start in the third quarter of
this year, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

The VND212-billion project includes expanding the apron and building a
platform and an air control tower.


 Do you have an opinion about this story?
Share it with other readers in our CAA Discussion Forums

http://www.californiaaviation.org/dcfp/dcboard.php


*****************************************