VietNamNet Bridge – The Khanh Hoa provincial People’s Committee is seeking the government’s permission to use land-use right fees from investors to upgrade the Cam Ranh International Airport. The cost is estimated at VND10 trillion.

The provincial authorities have sent a document to the Prime Minister, suggesting a solution to the capital arrangement for the project.

Khanh Hoa plans to use the money from the land-use right fees to build Runway No 2 and infrastructure in accordance with ICAO’s (International Civil Aviation Organization) 4E standards. There would also be a terminal with capacity of 1.5 million passengers.

Khanh Hoa plans to exchange a part of its land for Runway No 2. The land plot to be used for exchange is the old Nha Trang Airport area.

Under a government decision, two-thirds of the Nha Trang Airport area (61.1 hectares) is under control of the Khanh Hoa provincial authorities. The area is expected to be developed into a trade, service, finance and tourism center.

In the latest news, Nguyen Tan Tuan, head of the Khanh Hoa provincial National Assembly Deputies’ Delegation, while confirming that Khanh Hoa is calling for the investment in Cam Ranh, said that the province would only welcome domestic investors. Meanwhile, foreign investors will not have the opportunity to develop the project.

According to Tuan, an investor from the US once expressed willingness to develop Cam Ranh project. However, it was refused by the Ministry of National Defence because of the important military position of the airport.

At present, Cam Ranh can receive 1-1.5 million passengers a year which cannot help fully develop the province’s great economic potential. Therefore, upgrading the airport is now the priority task for Khanh Hoa.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc also said at the meeting in mid-September that the provincial authorities should develop the project.

“In order to attract more foreign tourists to Khanh Hoa, it is necessary to upgrade Cam Ranh Airport,” Phuc said.

He said the number of 526,000 foreign travelers to Khanh Hoa every year was nothing if compared with the 2 million foreign tourists to Hoi An City in Quang Nam province.

Cam Ranh International Airport is located on Cam Ranh Bay in Cam Ranh, a town in the province of Khanh Hoa in the central region of Vietnam. It once served as a military base.

In May 2004, after major reconstruction, the airport received its first commercial flight from Hanoi. In 2007, Cam Ranh Airport was developed into an international airport.