Vietnam's airports seek $1.4 bln for infrastructure upgrade

• Saigon-Hanoi ranks 7th among world's busiest air routes
• Market boom spurs Vietnamese airline carriers to expand fleets at speed
• Airfares could climb if fee hike approved in Vietnam

Vietnam’s airport operator has asked for VND32 trillion ($1.4 billion) from the state budget to upgrade large airports across the country, the Vietnam Economic Times reported Tuesday.

Do Quoc Binh of Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) told reporters he had submitted the plan to the Minister of Transportation who, pending his approval, would pass it on to the Prime Minister.

The funds would be allocated for runway improvements, terminal and airfield expansions as well as facility upgrades over the next four years.

Binh suggested that airports could recoup the costs of the investment by raising airport charges and fees.

ACV is the monopoly operator of 22 domestic airports. In 2016, the company handled nearly 81 million passengers, up 28 percent from a year ago.

The boom in Vietnam’s aviation market is forcing ACV to search for additional capital to pour into its overcrowded airports.

ACV's Aeroports de Paris recently purchased a 20 percent stake in the company, reducing state ownership to 75 percent, according to recent reports in Nikkei Asia.

The deal is already done and will be finalized in the coming months.

Last year, ACV sent a plan to the transport ministry in which it said that airport charges for domestic flights should be raised. The plan has yet to receive government approval.

 

 

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