Vietnam rejects proposals for five more airports in the master plan , wants to maintain 29 by year 2050 !

Five provinces of Vietnam want thier own Airport !

Northern provinces of Ha Giang, Bac Giang and Ninh Binh as well as the central provinces of Binh Phuoc and Ha Tinh had proposed their own airports to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV).

But, Aviation authorities have rejected the proposal of these five areas , rather suggested addition only one airport to the current master plan.

The aviation regulator has proposed to the Ministry of Transport to limit the number of airports in the country to 28 by 2030, and add only one more airport to Cao Bang ( northern province) , that will make it 29 airports in the country by 2050.

Current count of 22 Airports !

At present, Vietnam has 22 active airports , while  six more has been approved for construction by 2030, that includes the Long Thanh International Airport in the southern province of Dong Nai and Sa Pa Airport in the northern province of Lao Cai.

Officials and experts have expressed concern over excessive airports in the country and Airports built within 100 kilometers reach will result in low yield.

Reason on Rejection !

• Transport Ministry says, all the airports with an annual traffic of under two million passengers a year are recording losses.
• Some of the proposals have been rejected because of unsuitable topography, like the mountainous terrain in Ha Giang
• Some other proposals like that in Ninh Binh have vast rice fields, the main source of livelihood for the locals.
• Proposals like Ha Tinh and Ninh Binh have been rejected because the airports would be too close to already existing ones (within 100 kilometers of the localities).

Pham Van Toi, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Association on Aviation Science and Technology, said that many proposals have been made without thorough examination of their merits and demerits.

Construction company Tedi spokesperson, which is advising authorities on the construction of the Tien Lang airport, said existing airports in the north are sufficient to meet demand from now until 2040, and authorities should review on the demand later.