VietNamNet Bridge - Sources say it is highly possible that the T1 Terminal of Noi Bai Airport will sell to nominated investors, not through auctions, though two investors have registered to buy it.

The government has not approved any of the suggested plans on offering concessions to private investors. 

Observers believed that auctions would be organized by the Ministry of Transport (MOT) to find the buyer, because this would ensure a fair competition for the candidates.

Vietnam Airlines, the national flag air carrier, and Vietjet Air, the first private Vietnamese airline, both have registered to receive the concession to operate T1 Terminal of the Noi Bai International Airport. Vietjet Air has twice sent documents to MOT to express its aspiration.

Vietjet Air’s deputy general director Nguyen Duc Tam said at a recent workshop that the air carrier wishes to have the right to exploit the terminal, saying that Vietjet Air does not target the E Hall of the airport as suggested by MOT.

Tam promised that if Vietjet Air obtains the concession to exploit T1 Terminal, the air carrier would be willing to cooperate with other airlines for the related parties’ benefits.

Vietnam Airlines, a “big guy” in the aviation industry, has asked MOT to appoint it as the exploiter of the T1 Terminal.

Under current regulations, the government can either find the buyer through auctions, under negotiations, or appoint buyers who have to satisfy associated requirements.

Lai Xuan Thanh, head of CAAV, noted that it is necessary to consider different possible scenarios. What will happen if Vietjet Air wins the contract for T1 Terminal and Vietnam Airlines wins the contract for E Hall? E Hall would be more suitable to Vietjet Air, and T1 is now the major operation scope of Vietnam Airlines.

“In this case, it would be better if the government determines who will be the exploiter of the terminals,” Thanh noted.  

No official statement has been released, but Thanh’s words may show what the Ministry of Transport and the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) have decided.

In other words, the buyer of the T1 Terminal may not be determined through auctions. The government will decide who will have the concessions to exploit T1 after considering the airlines’ operation scale and conditions, and if they can satisfy the requirements set by the seller.

T1 was put into operation in 2001 to serve both domestic and international flights with the designed capacity of 6 million passengers a year. 

In 2013, the E Hall of T1 Terminal with 25,000 square meters was put into operation. With the designed capacity of 3 million passengers a year, it has helped ease the overloading of T1.

TBKTSG