Minister of Transport Truong Quang Nghia said that Noi Bai International Airport would face overcrowding in several years to come if its expansion projects are not carried out soon.



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Passengers at Noi Bai International Airport.



The Ministry of Transport on September 12 had a meeting with Hanoi authorities on the city’s transport network development and planning.    

At the meeting, Dinh Viet Thang, head of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV), said that work to upgrade the domestic terminal at Noi Bai International Airport is expected to be completed in 2018 to raise its capacity to 15 million passengers per year.

Meanwhile, the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) have also planned to expand the international terminal by 2020 to increase its annual capacity to 15 million passengers.

ACV added that at present, the airport has 71 landing areas and the figure is expected to be raised to 86 in the coming years.

Thang said that the airport’s total annual capacity would be increased to 34.5 million by 2020; 54 million by 2025 and 65 million by 2030 compared to the current 25 million.

He suggested the Ministry of Transport and Hanoi reach a consensus on the allocation of resettlement areas as well as compensation for land which will be used for the airport expansion.

According to Thang, the Ministry of Transport needed to hire foreign consultants for the airport expansion which is aimed to ensure the yearly capacity of 80-100 million passengers in the long term.

Transport Minister Truong Quang Nghia urged the expansion project could go ahead as soon as possible as the airport may face overloading in the years to come.

Nghia instructed CAAV to propose Hanoi authorities to advance capital for the project’s site clearance first after getting government approval.

At the meeting, Hanoi’s People's Committee Chairman Nguyen Duc Chung admitted Noi Bai Airport was at risk of being overloaded within the next three to five years. He pledged that Hanoi will advance around VND30 billion (USD1.63 million) for project planning.

dtinews