Noi Bai Airport is about to be expanded

On December 11, the Ministry of Transport responded in writing to National Assembly delegate Le Hoang Hai (Dong Nai Delegation) about the overload situation at some international gateway airports, which is causing a bad image for the country.

The ministry said that in 2024, a number of projects will be implemented to address this situation. Noi Bai International Terminal 2 will be expanded to increase capacity by 5 million passengers per year. The project, completed in 2026, will increase the total capacity of Noi Bai airport to 30 million passengers (currently 25 million). The managing unit is expanding the aircraft parking lot before starting the expansion of Terminal 2.

Currently, the master plan of Noi Bai airport has been studied by international consultants (ADPi) through funding from the French Government, and is now basically completed. The Ministry of Transport is coordinating with Hanoi to review, agree on the planning scheme and appraise and approve it in 2024.

At Da Nang airport, the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) has prepared resources to invest in expanding passenger terminal T1 and building a new terminal T3 after the airport's planning is approved.

The planning of Da Nang airport, carried out by domestic consultants, is now basically complete. The Ministry of Transport has proposed the Australian Government to fund and select an international consulting unit to review the planning, expected to approve the planning in 2024.

The Ministry of Transport also said it is implementing a number of new investment projects for Tan Son Nhat's T3 passenger terminal with a capacity of 20 million passengers per year, expected to be completed in 2024, helping to increase the total capacity of this airport to 50 million passengers.

The transport sector will build a road connecting Tran Quoc Hoan - Cong Hoa Street and renovate Cong Hoa Street to reduce congestion in the airport area, expected to be completed in 2024 along with the exploitation of Tan Son Nhat T3 terminal.

In addition, a number of airports have been invested in and built according to the plan such as Long Thanh phase 1 with a capacity of 25 million passengers per year; construction of passenger terminal T2 - Phu Bai airport (Thua Thien Hue); expansion of Dien Bien airport, investment in terminal T2 - Cat Bi airport.

Regarding the causes of overload at major gateway airports, the Ministry of Transport said that the runway system is degraded and the terminals are not meeting the operating capacity. Along with that, the traffic system connecting the airport is not meeting the demand, causing congestion such as around Tan Son Nhat.

The airport network has been planned relatively appropriately for the development speed, but according to the Ministry of Transport, due to difficulties in allocating resources, investment in upgrading and expanding infrastructure at some major ports is still slow, leading to exploitation exceeding the design capacity, especially passenger terminals.