Vietnam will have 28 domestic and international airports nationwide by 2030 and one more, Cao Bang airport, by 2050 according to the recent proposal submitted by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) to the Ministry of Transport (MoT) in early May.

Under the latest report on the national airport planning appraisal, the number of airports remains unchanged compared to the previous planning. 

Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi. Photo: Vietnam Airlines

“The proposed number of airports has been carefully considered, based on international experiences and the current situation as well as the socio-economic development strategy of Vietnam,” said Nguyen Anh Dung, Deputy Director of the Department of Planning and Investment under the MoT.

Proposals to have new airports in a series of provinces of Ha Giang, Bac Giang, Ninh Binh, Binh Phuoc, and Ha Tinh have been rejected since they fail to meet requirements of the CAAV and its consultant.

Currently, non-hub airports, which are serving less than two million passengers per year, are making losses. It is not financially efficient to build airports if the distance between them is less than 100km, Dung added.

Dr. Ngo Tri Long, a local economist, said airport construction must be based on actual conditions, with very strict criteria including market needs,   security and national defense as well as natural conditions. 

“The investment in building an airport is very expensive. We need to carefully calculate the airport planning based on real needs, economic effects, and social impacts,” Long told Hanoitimes.

Sharing the same point of view, Dr. Nguyen Bach Tung, an aviation expert, assessed that most of the domestic airports have not yet reached the designed capacity. Some airports often have no passengers in the early stages such as Van Don island in the northern province of Quang Ninh and Cantho city.

“Therefore, the efficiency of airport investment should be carefully considered,” Tung told Hanoitimes.

In the planning appraisal report, the CAAV also proposed to build Haiphong international airport in Tien Lang district as an alternate airport to Noi Bai international airport in Hanoi.

A representative from Tedi, an airport planning consultant, agreed with the CAAV’s proposal. Based on data on economic growth and capacity of existing airports, until 2040, it is not necessary to consider building a second airport in the capital area.  

"After 2040, depending on the demand for growth of passengers in the capital area, the authorities will decide officially whether to build the second airport in the capital region in Tien Lang or not", Tedi representative said.