At present, the tasks of checking the land budget and setting up boundary markers are being done to create the basis for the implementation of the project.
Upgradation and expansion of Phu Bai International Airport are critical
Providing suitable land budget
According to the planning, part of the land to be used for the project to expand Phu Bai International Airport is owned by Phu Bai Ward, Thuy Phu and Thuy Tan Communes of Huong Thuy Town (about 12 km south of Hue City). The space need to be made is over 153 hectares.
Mr. Nguyen Dac Tap, Deputy Chairman of People’s Committee of Huong Thuy Town, said, “After the local authorities had finished setting up the boundary markers in coordination with the relevant departments as part the approved project management planning, the petroleum depot close to the airport was removed ; The Project’s remaining work is being planned and will be carried out by the Airport Cooperation of Vietnam in the coming time”.
The People’s Committee of Huong Thuy Town asserts that it is their responsibility to manage the land and undertake the task of setting up of the boundary markers for the expansion of Phu Bai International Airports, at the same time they ought to make thorough calculations to create a longer vision for the expansion and development of Phu Bai International Airport in future.
In terms of the land owned by the Ministry of Defense to be used for the project, thorough research needs to be done for sensible adjustments. Resettlement of the local inhabitants is an important issue to deal with but the relocated households’ lives ought to be well looked after.
Phu Bai International Airport will be expanded in 2018. Photo: Tam Hue
To be deployed in 2018
According to Mr. Le Cong Dien, Deputy Director of the Department of Transport, the Ministry of Transport supports the Province’s idea about the necessity to expand Phu Bai International Airport to meet with the demand for transportation as well as to serve the present and the future socio – economic development. The central government has decided to make major adjustments to the air transport projects to the year 2020 and its orientation to 2030, including the project for Phu Bai International Airport.
The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) is directed by the Ministry of Transport to urgently go through the required procedures in order to undertake the project’s items in 2018. The Ministry also asks for the coordination of the Province so that the implementation of the project’s items can finish on schedule.
As the implementation of the project is a long term process, the Ministry of Transport requests Vietnam Civil Aviation Administration to chair and to coordinate with ACV to do researches on possible adjustments to the detailed project plan for Phu Bai International Airport in accordance with the development planning for air transport by 2020 and its orientation by 2030 already approved by the Prime Minister. In addition, the Ministry of Transport requests Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam to work as a consultant on general mechanisms and general policies so that the Ministry can make a report to the central government for the permission for ACV to make use of the existing source of enterprise capital to invest the expansion and upgradation of some items of the airspace of Phu Bai International Airport.
At the conclusion of the Ministry of Transport, the provincial leaders held a meeting with the project-related units on the issue of Phu Bai International Airport expansion and upgradation . The Central Airports Authority and Phu Bai International Airport agreed with the People’s Committee of Huong Thuy Town that the setting- up of the boundary markers ought to be promptly started as the initial fundamental work for the implementation of the project.
The Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People’s committee have requested the project- related departments and Huong Thuy local authorities to go through necessary procedures, carry out indispensable plans as well as to check the present state of the land to be used for the airport expansion project.
With its terminal’s present capacity it is impossible for Phu Bai International Airport to deal with the passenger traffic of 1.5 million/year as expected because it is now overloaded. In terms of the airport’s infrastructure, there is not yet a separate terminal for international passengers.
To reach the number of passenger traffic of 7 million by 2025
In 2017, the number of passengers through Phu Bai Airport hit 1.75 million; the average passenger traffic growth in the period of 2014 – 2017 was 15%/year. It is expected that the rate in 2016 – 2020 will hit 13-17%, and by 2020 3-3.5 million users /year, and 6.5 – 7 million /year by 2025.
Story, photos: Ha Nguyen