Transport ministry rejects proposal to build $276-mln Moc Chau airport

The rejection came just a week after provincial authorities proposed to include the Moc Chau airport project in the national aviation development scheme in what was deemed a tourism boost.

The ministry said a 145-kilometer-long expressway connecting Hanoi and Moc Chau was already planned and is expected to be finished by 2030. The road will reduce the travel time between Hanoi and Moc Chau to two hours from the current four to five hours and boost socio-economic development.

Earlier, the northwestern province had wanted the government to let it build Na San airport in public-private partnership mode by renovating and expanding an abandoned airport in Mai Son District.

The ministry already added Na San Airport to the national aviation development scheme.

Son La received 2.5 million tourists in 2019, the year before Covid began, after growing at an annual average of 23%.

It is famous for tea plantations, trekking destinations and pristine ethnic minority villages.

A 632-meter-long glass bridge in Moc Chau was crowned with a Guinness World Record for its length in May.