Vietnam sanctions $857 million Hanoi airport upgrade programme
21 May 2008
Hanoi: The Vietnamese government has approved a plan to expand Noi Bai International Airport, its second-largest, located near the capital Hanoi. The expansion programme requires an estimated investment of 13.74 trillion dong ($857 million) and is slated for completion by 2020.
The project to build a third terminal at Noi Bai, located 45 km (28 miles) north of Hanoi, will allow the airport to handle 25 million passengers a year by 2020, which is 10 million more than the current capacity, a government statement said.
In the country, Noi Bai is second in size only to Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh city (erstwhile Saigon).
According to a government statement, the project will be funded through budgetary allocations, corporate funds and private equity.
Vietnam would need to invest another 43 trillion dong after 2020 to double Noi Bai's capacity to 50 million passengers a year from 2030.
Vietnam has forecast air passenger traffic to more than double to 32.4 million people by 2020, from nearly 15 million last year. The country has opened up its aviation sector to foreign investment ever since joining the World Trade Organisation in January 2007.