Vietnam Airlines Group plans to invest VND9.9 trillion (nearly US$430 million) in Long Thanh International Airport in the southern province of Dong Nai. 

Vietnam Airlines plans to invest nearly US$430 million in Long Thanh International Airport. Photo: ACV

The plan has been submitted to the Ministries of Transport, Planning and Investment and the Commission for the Management of State Capital at Enterprises.

Dang Ngoc Hoa, Chairman of Vietnam Airlines Group said that, in the development strategy for 2021-30, the company and its member units give priority to allocating maximum resources to participate in the construction and operation of infrastructure at the Long Thanh Airport, providing synchronous services for its activities and other carriers.

Vietnam Airlines plans to invest in the supply of aviation fuel, ground technical services, meals, cargo terminal, aviation logistics center, lounge services, duty free sales and other aviation services at Long Thanh International airport.

The group and its subsidiaries, including Vietnam Airlines, Pacific Airlines, Vasco, expects to directly invest in infrastructure construction or establish a joint venture with the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) to implement such projects.

In the short term, the group has proposed to be immediately allotted a land location so as it could build aircraft construction, maintenance and repair facilities at the Long Thanh Airport.

Once the proposal is approved, Vietnam Airlines and its affiliates will prepare specific investment projects and submit them to competent authorities according to regulations.

As the aviation industry was among the hardest-hit sectors by the pandemic, the airline’s post-tax profit was VND11.1 trillion (US$482 million) in 2020. Last November, the National Assembly agreed to allow the State Bank of Vietnam to provide refinancing loans worth VND12 trillion (US$518.6 million) for Vietnam Airlines to maintain its operation.

In January, the construction of the first phase of the Long Thanh Airport was kicked off, with an estimated investment of more than VND109 trillion (US$4.6 billion). 

The 5,500-ha airport will be built in three phases and is expected to have four runways and four passenger terminals to ensure a capacity of 100 million passengers and five million tons of cargo per year by 2040. Once fully operational, it will become a major international aviation hub in the region.