A plane picks up passengers at the Côn Đảo Airport. — VNA/VNS Photo

The Ministry of Transport (MoT) is planning to upgrade and expand Côn Đảo Airport so it can land bigger planes.

In a document sent to Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and Deputy PM Trần Hồng Hà, the MoT proposed to upgrade and expand the airport by public investment capital so it can accept operation aircraft code C (A320s and their equivalent).

The MoT assesses that the investment plan ensures effective use of capital with reasonable costs and will better serve people's travel needs, ensuring safety, national defence and security.

The project to renovate and upgrade the runway and taxiway at Côn Đảo Airport has been approved with a total investment of about VNĐ1.6 trillion (US$66.9 million).

It was assigned by the PM as a medium-term public investment plan using State budget for the period 2020-25.

The project will expand the existing runway with a size of 1,830mx45m, build a new parallel taxiway and connecting taxiways and improve night lighting.

The landing system will mean aircrafts such as the A319 and B737 will be able to use the airport, in accordance with PM Chính’s instructions.

Previously, based on calculating the expected flight routes and operating conditions, the ADPi international consultant from France concluded that the 1,830-metre runway at Côn Đảo Airport is sufficient to receive most types of aircrafts code C, except for the A321 aircraft.

Airlines are advised to operate medium-sized aircrafts to ensure the highest work efficiency and ensure the operation of all domestic routes in Việt Nam and some international routes to Southeast Asia and North Asia.

Regarding works ensuring flight activities, according to current regulations, the Việt Nam Air Traffic Management Corporation (VATM) is responsible for investing, upgrading and expanding technical infrastructure at the airport.

Regarding civil aviation projects, the MoT leaders said that from now up to 2030, it was necessary to research and invest into building a new civil aviation area including a passenger terminal and parking with a capacity of around two million passengers per year.

The estimated investment cost is about VNĐ2.1 trillion ($83.5 million) under the public-private partnership (PPP) method.

Therefore, the MoT suggested the PM to direct the Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province People's Committee to study and develop a project on civil aviation area under the PPP method and report to the PM for permission.

At present, the runway and taxiway at the Côn Đảo Airport, which were built in 2004, are in a poor condition and the 30 metre wide runway can only be used for planes such as the ATR72 and equivalent. — VNS