Phan Thiet Airport construction speeds up

Nguyen Ngoc Hai, Chairman of the People’s Committee, said the work has been progressing at a snail’s pace, and ordered relevant agencies to quickly remove resolve all problems related to land compensation payments.

The 543ha airport with a 5,000sq.m terminal in Thien Nghiep Commune in the north-east of Phan Thiet will be used for both civil and military purposes.

It will be constructed in build-operate-transfer (BOT) mode in two phases with an initial cost of about VND5.6 trillion (US$251 million). 

The Phan Thiet Airport will become operational in 2018, initially capable of handling small aircraft like ATR72 and F70 and 500,000 passengers annually. 

By 2030 it can handle large aircraft such as A320s and A321s and serve a million passengers.

Binh Thuan has commissioned Rang Dong JSC to build the civil section of the airport at a cost of more than VND1.64 trillion (US$73.5 million).

The airport is expected to bring in more investors and tourists by connecting Phan Thiet City with the rest of the country.

According to the chairman of the commune, Tran Tu Minh, local residents are looking forward to the construction of the airport because while the commune is mainly agricultural it can only grow one crop a year.

“Construction of Phan Thiet Airport will create favourable conditions for Thien Nghiep Commune to develop tourism and other service sectors and revamp its production system,” he said.