The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) on June 1 said that the Noi Bai International Airport 2 project is “new” as it has been already mapped out in the master plan for Vietnam’s airport development.

“It has been in the master plan for Vietnam’s airport development to 2050 since 2008 and is not something new,” a senior CAAV official, who preferred to remain anonymous, said.

“What is new is that CAAV and the Ministry of Transport are submitting a proposal for the government’s approval.”

She gave no further details about the Noi Bai International Airport 2 project, which is schedule for post-2020 under the master plan.

“We are seeking the government’s approval to carry out a feasibility study first,” she said.

The project is expected to be located to the front of the existing airport and have estimated investment capital of $5 billion, according to the master plan.

It will cover an area of 720 ha and span three communes in Hanoi’s Soc Son district: Phu Minh, Phu Cuong, and Mai Dinh.

“Costs for site clearance, compensation and resettlement areas for residents are estimated at $2 billion,” Mr. Lai Xuan Thanh, Head of CAAV, was quoted as saying. “Main items, including taxiways, parking aprons, and terminal lighting systems are estimated at VND78 trillion ($3.51 billion).”

Capital for these main items will be sourced from other non-State funds.

Noi Bai International Airport currently has a capacity of handling 25 million passengers a year and saw growth of 22 per cent in 2015.

CAAV last year opened the four-storey T2 terminal, which was built by the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), with Japan’s Taisei Corporation as the main contractor.

T2 terminal had total investment capital of $968 million, of which $161 million was in Japanese official development assistance (ODA), and a capacity of 10 million passengers annually.

CAAV estimates that Noi Bai will be overloaded within a couple of years. “Expansion is urgent,” Mr. Thanh said.