Investing 3,000 billion VND to upgrade Vinh International Airport
(Baonghean.vn) - According to the plan until 2020, Vinh International Airport will be a level 4E international airport, with an aircraft parking area of 15 seats, ensuring operations for aircraft code E, D, C. Construction of additional runway No. 2 will ensure operations for aircraft code E such as B747, B777, B787, A350 and equivalent.
 |
| Overview of the meeting. Photo: Thu Huyen |
On the afternoon of October 10, the People's Committee of Nghe An province had a working session with the working delegation of Vietnam Airports Corporation led by General Director Vu The Phiet on the investment project to develop Vinh International Airport.
Attending the meeting, on the side of Nghe An province were comrades: Nguyen Dac Vinh - Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee; Thai Thanh Quy - Alternate Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Huynh Thanh Dien - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee and representatives of relevant departments and branches.
 |
| Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Dac Vinh spoke in agreement with the investment policy to upgrade Vinh International Airport. Photo: Thu Huyen |
Vinh Airport plays a very important role in the development of Nghe An, Ha Tinh provinces and the region, especially in serving tourism and attracting investment. Currently, Vinh Airport Terminal has begun to be full, overloaded during peak hours, making it difficult to meet international flights.
In response to development needs, the Ministry of Transport agreed to upgrade Vinh International Airport with a total investment of about 3,000 billion VND. Specifically: The project to build passenger terminal T2, with a designed capacity of 5 million passengers/year, including 1 million international passengers/year and 4 million domestic passengers/year; The total floor area of the terminal is about 16,500m22, estimated total investment is about 1,681 billion VND.
 |
| Vinh International Airport currently has 7 flight routes. Photo courtesy |
 |
| Passengers wait to check in at Vinh International Airport. Photo: Thu Huyen |
The project to build an aircraft parking lot in front of Terminal T2 with a designed capacity of 7 parking positions for code E aircraft and 2 parking positions for code C aircraft, has a total investment of about 1,001 billion VND. These projects are expected to hand over the site no later than the end of the second quarter of 2019, start construction in the third quarter of 2019, and be completed and put into operation in the fourth quarter of 2020.
 |
| General Director of Vietnam Airports Vu The Phiet expressed his hope that the province would support and speed up the progress of site clearance and land handover to implement the projects. Photo: Thu Huyen |
In addition, investment projects at Vinh Airport: Project to renovate and upgrade the aviation technology chain from the domestic passenger terminal to the international passenger terminal (51 billion VND); project to install a passenger bridge to increase convenience and increase the actual operating capacity of the existing terminal (116 billion VND); project to expand and renovate the existing aircraft parking lot (245 billion VND).
Speaking at the meeting, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Nguyen Dac Vinh, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Thai Thanh Quy affirmed the necessity of expanding the planning, renovating and upgrading some items of Vinh International Airport because it is currently overloaded. He requested the departments of: Transport, Natural Resources and Environment, Construction, Vinh City... to coordinate to complete the site clearance, land handover as well as other work items to implement the projects.
 |
| Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Thai Thanh Quy spoke and requested the Vietnam Airports Corporation to direct the construction unit to speed up the progress and ensure the completion and putting of the project into use. Photo: Thu Huyen |
Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Thai Thanh Quy especially noted that relevant parties are interested in the issue of site clearance; construction of the site clearance sub-project with the City People's Committee as the investor, striving to complete before October 30, 2018.
Comrade Thai Thanh Quy also requested that Vietnam Airports Corporation speed up the procedures to approve the detailed construction plan to be completed in December 2018, and approve the project to be completed in February 2019. Coordinate with Vinh City People's Committee in site clearance work, resolve issues related to site clearance and construction; promptly arrange funds to pay for site clearance; and at the same time be responsible for managing and using the allocated land area in accordance with legal regulations.
 |
| General Director of Vietnam Airports Corporation Vu The Phiet presents flowers to congratulate the new Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee Thai Thanh Quy. Photo: Thu Huyen |
For the project to renovate and upgrade the inner-city international passenger terminal: direct the construction unit to speed up the progress to ensure completion and put into use by December 2018.
"Regarding the second runway, Vietnam Airports Corporation should soon study and report to the Ministry of Transport for early investment because the first runway has been invested for a long time and is increasingly overloaded; at the same time, adjust the planning of Vinh International Airport" - Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Thai Thanh Quy suggested.
Vinh International Airport currently has 7 routes, with about 34 flights arriving and departing each day. In 2017, the number of passengers passing through this airport reached 1.8 million; in the first 9 months of 2018, it is expected to reach 1.44 million. There are currently 2 international routes to Laos and Thailand.
