Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha Expanding Con Dao Airport with PPP capital

DNHN - Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha has issued a notice to direct the development of a project on socialization and investment in the form of a public-private partnership (PPP) to operate Con Dao Airport.

After completing the necessary procedures, the People's Committee of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province should propose to the Prime Minister that the province be assigned the project's implementation. To attain international status, investments in upgrading and expanding Con Dao airport must be synchronized with take-off and landing routes, passenger terminals, and other ancillary works.

The Ministry of Transport, the Committee for the Management of State Capital in Enterprises, and the Airports Corporation of Vietnam have all agreed to prioritize the PPP method for project implementation.

The Deputy Prime Minister tasked the Ministry of Transport with preparing a comprehensive and synchronized investment plan for the items of take-off and landing roads, railway stations, and taxiways, to evaluate and calculate the efficiency of business investment; and to simultaneously guide and supervise the implementation process while ensuring the technical and standard requirements are met.

The short runway at Con Dao Airport, constructed by the French in the 19th century, is surrounded by sea and mountains. Currently, Con Dao is a civil airport of level 3C and a military airport of level 2 - capable of receiving ATR72, F70, and equivalent aircraft, with a passenger capacity of 300,000 per year.

According to the Air Transport Development Plan for 2020, with a vision for 2030 approved by the Prime Minister in 2018, Con Dao Airport has attained grade 4C following an upgrade. This is a civil and military airport (military airport of grade 2) with a designed capacity of 2 million passengers per year; 8 aircraft parking positions; an estimated land area of 141ha; and an estimated investment cost of approximately 2,300 billion VND.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam requested on February 17 that the People's Committee of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province assist with site clearance, compensation, clearance, and resettlement; setting up temporary harbors and gathering yards to serve the transportation of materials to the island... for the implementation of the project.

Con Dao Airport currently serves Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Can Tho with 20-22 flights per day and can serve 400,000 passengers per year. In recent years, the number of passengers has increased by an average of 15% per year, but the infrastructure has not caught up, so the airport operates only small aircraft that cannot fly at night.

The runway will remain the same length (1,830 m), but its width will increase from 30 to 45 m; a new parallel taxiway and three connecting taxiways of 15m width will be constructed.

Additionally, the airport is expanded from four to eight positions; the internal traffic system, petroleum depot, railway station, and ancillary works are upgraded to ensure 24-hour airport operation. After being upgraded for civil and military use, the airport has a capacity of 2 million passengers and 4,400 tonnes of cargo per year and can accommodate Airbus A320, A321, and similar aircraft.

Before this, the People's Committee of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province received two proposals to participate in the Investment Project to upgrade and expand Con Dao Airport as a PPP, one of which was from the Sun Group, a very "heavyweight" enterprise.

Buu Chuong