Vietnam province dreams of international airport

The Ministry of Transport said Monday that Ha Tinh authorities had petitioned it and the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam to add Ha Tinh International Airport to national airport network planning.

The airport will be built on an area of 300 to 450 ha in Thach Ha and Cam Xuyen districts, only around 70 km from Vinh International Airport in Nghe An Province to the north, and 150 km from Dong Hoi Airport of Quang Binh Province to the south.

The airport would have two runways spanning over 1,800 m and is expected to operate flights to top tourist destinations like Hanoi, HCMC and Phu Quoc Island in southern Vietnam, as well as Pleiku and Buon Ma Thuot in the Central Highlands, according to the proposal.

It would have an annual capacity of 500,000 passengers until 2030 and two million until 2050. The airport is expected to be built after 2020.

Ha Tinh has reserved land funds for the airport for more than 20 years. This is a sparsely populated area, which is relatively close to the province's administrative center and could be easily connected to Vung Ang Economic Zone.

Under the development plan of air transport until 2020 with a vision until 2030 approved by the government in 2018, the northern and central regions have 18 airports including nine international ones. Ha Tinh Airport has not yet been included in the planning.

Authorities in Ha Tinh said some investors have showed interest in building Ha Tinh Airport but nothing has been confirmed due to a lack of planning.

Ha Tinh, one of the poorest provinces in Vietnam, reported economic growth of 11 percent last year against the country's 7 percent. It plans to work toward becoming an industrial province and also hopes to be one of the top 20 localities in terms of per capita income by 2030.

The country currently has 22 civilian airports, including 10 international air hubs. Tan Son Nhat in HCMC and Noi Bai in Hanoi are the country’s two biggest airports.