The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (Bidv) and Vietnam Airlines Corp have received approval from the government to choose an international consultant for a zoning plan for Cam Ranh International Airport in Khanh Hoa Province.

Bidv and Vietnam Airlines Corp will hold negotiations with international consulting firms to opt for the best. According to the government, the two companies must secure Ministry of Defence approval of the chosen international consultant.

In March this year, the prime minister allowed the investors to adjust the master development plan to make it possible to turn the airport into an international one.

Cam Ranh airport is located in Cam Ranh Bay in the central coast province of Khanh Hoa. The former military airfield was converted into a civil airport in 2004 and it has since mainly served the seaside resort town of Nha Trang, which is 30 kilometres from the airport.

Vietnam's aviation sector is planning to establish a network of 26 airports, including 10 international, from now by 2020 under an aviation transport development scheme drawn up by the Ministry of Transport.

The plan, which includes expanding the existing airports and building new ones, will require total capital of 221.5 trillion dong (US$13.4 billion). The money will be mobilised from different sources, including the state budget and the private sector.

The scheme also identifies 10 international airports, namely Noi Bai in Hanoi, Cat Bi in Hai Phong, Phu Bai in Hue, Da Nang, Tan Son Nhat in HCM City, Chu Lai in Quang Ngai, Cam Ranh in Khanh Hoa, Long Thanh in Dong Nai, CanTho, and Phu Quoc in Kien Giang.

According to the Vietnam Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV), the government has given the nod to an expansion plan proposed by Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi.

Under the expansion plan, a new terminal will be built at Noi Bai to scale up the airport's annual handling capacity to 50 million passengers by 2020, from the current eight million.

The CAAV is planning the enlargement of Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City to provide facilities and spaces for around 70 planes to land and take off by 2015. After completing the expansion, Tan Son Nhat airport will be able to handle 23.5 million passengers and 600,000 tonnes of cargo a year.

Statistics of CAAV show there are currently 20 airports in the country, including five international ones which serve some 30 million passengers a year.

(Saigon Times Daily - Intellasia)