The six airports are Na San in Son La Province, Vinh in Nghe An Province, Chu Lai in Quang Nam Province, Can Tho in Can Tho City, Tho Xuan in Thanh Hoa Province and Lien Khuong in Lam Dong Province.

The expansion would help boost socio-economic development in these localities, the local media reported.

Under the proposal, these airports will have their passenger terminals expanded, runways extended and new aprons built to handle larger aircraft.

Preparations for the expansion will include surveying the status of these airports and garnering feedback from provinces, cities and ministries.

Though Chu Lai, Vinh and Can Tho airports are operating below their current design capacities, they will still be expanded in line with a 2030 airport development plan. Nghe An Province had earlier proposed expanding the Vinh airport by building a new passenger terminal with a capacity of 10 million passengers a year, the second runway, a cargo terminal and supporting facilities before 2025.

All but Na San are among 22 airports managed by the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV). While ACV is focusing on investing in major airports, mobilizing private capital plays a key role in speeding up the expansion of smaller airports.

To form a legal corridor, the Ministry of Transport has developed a plan for capital mobilization to invest in airport infrastructure.

Accordingly, the ministry proposed ACV transfer the management of essential facilities at some airports in remote areas to the provincial and municipal governments so that localities can proactively mobilize capital for airport investment and development.

Source: Saigon Times