Experts propose building a dedicated airport

Many aviation experts say that Vietnam lacks small and specialized airports, and propose a mechanism to attract investment capital for construction using socialized sources.

At the seminar "Mobilizing resources for aviation infrastructure development" on June 23 in Hanoi, experts pointed out the lack of small, specialized airports. These airports serve small planes, seaplanes, and helicopters to transport passengers and goods, not public passengers.

Since Decree 42/2016, the country has not built any specialized airports, except for helipads. Meanwhile, the future demand for helicopters, business aircraft, taxi flights, serving agriculture, forestry, geology, training, and sports is very large.

According to Mr. Pham Ngoc Sau, former Director of Van Don International Airport, the current passenger volume through the ports is about 100 million per year, exceeding the design capacity. According to the plan, by 2030 it will be 279.5 million passengers, 2.7 times higher than the current number. The growth rate of aviation is very fast, Vietnam is one of 5 countries with an average growth rate of 17-20% per year.

Demand is high, but if projects are not implemented in 2024-2025, the airport will be overloaded by 2030. Mr. Sau said that the most important issue now is to accelerate investment in airport infrastructure, not only large ports but also specialized ones. Because the transportation industry is focusing on upgrading existing airports without thinking about the fact that there are airports that are no longer capable of development, and there are no more land resources, so it is necessary to design specialized airports to share the load.

Giving his opinion on Dong Nai province's planning, Mr. Sau proposed that the province should plan a specialized airport. The government plans a large airport in general, and when the locality develops a general plan, it builds a specialized airport for small aircraft, air taxis, seaplanes, etc.

A seaplane carrying tourists views Ha Long Bay from above. Photo: Minh Cuong — A seaplane carrying tourists views Ha Long Bay from above. Photo: *Minh Cuong*

Aviation expert Luong Hoai Nam also pointed out the fact that Vietnam lacks small airports and small aircraft, leading to an "unscientific" aviation structure. Countries have many specialized airports next to their airports. In the US, there are 200,000 airports, the vast majority of which are specialized airports serving general aviation.

According to Mr. Nam, a dedicated airport with a runway of 1.8 km or less would require a total investment of no more than VND500 billion. With this amount of capital, many investors will participate, creating a breakthrough in airport construction. "If we go in that direction, any locality or province can have an airport. Large provinces like Nghe An can absolutely have a public transport airport or an airport and a dedicated airport," said Mr. Nam.

On the management side, Mr. Nguyen Anh Dung, Deputy Director of the Department of Planning and Investment, said that the Ministry of Transport has identified the world trend of small aircraft and private aviation, the future could be flying cars and will need specialized airports. There must also be space for these aircraft in airports, in addition to private airports.

"Decree 42 regulates the opening and closing of specialized airports. In the planning, we have requested that localities, if they develop this type of airport, must proactively unify the planning and mobilize resources," said Mr. Dung, adding that the Ministry is also amending the Aviation Law and will continue to specify this content.

At the seminar, experts also proposed many solutions to mobilize capital for businesses to invest in airport construction. Mr. Luong Hoai Nam said the problems lie in the four words "No way out". That is, investors do not know how to carry out administrative procedures, investment procedures; localities do not know how to socialize. Stuck in procedures, investors who were previously enthusiastic and wanted to participate in airport projects have now left.

Therefore, Mr. Nam believes that "it is necessary to roll out the red carpet" on policy mechanisms, especially for private investors. Administrative procedures must be simple, coherent and risk-free. Some investors have left before, but if the procedures are simple, they will return.

Mr. Nguyen Anh Dung, Deputy Director of the Department of Planning and Investment, said that airport investment is not financially effective, especially in the initial stage when interest rates are high, while passenger traffic is not high. When developing the airport socialization project, the Ministry of Transport proposed that the State provide support to a certain extent to make it financially feasible, not only in the investment stage but also in the operation stage.

For example, when putting into operation airports from military to military such as Chu Lai, Tho Xuan, Vinh in the first phase, the State and localities supported the carriers. Currently, localities still have policies to support airlines to attract new routes. In addition, the level of State capital contribution to the project is 50%.

The Law on Aviation stipulates that the system of military and specialized airports is assigned to the Ministry of National Defense to preside over planning. Decree 16/2016 stipulates that the Ministry of National Defense approves the location of specialized airports after consulting with the Ministry of Construction, the People's Committee of the province where the specialized airport is built, and reaching agreement with the Ministry of Transport.

The master plan for the development of the national airport system for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, has just been approved by the Prime Minister, identifying 30 airports by 2030 and 33 airports by 2050. In addition, the plan orients the development of specialized airports and small-scale airports to develop the market and improve operational efficiency.

Mr. Duy

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