Creating a breakthrough for the economy in the "era of national growth"

Developing the aviation economy, or exploiting outer space, has been confirmed as one of the new driving forces for the country's development. To exploit this space well, it is necessary to attract worthy investment in infrastructure, especially the participation of the private economic sector.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized the importance of building an airport system.

Vietnamese "Eagle" can build an airport in just 1 year

12 months is the “incredible” time commitment to complete the Gia Binh Airport (Bac Ninh). If completed, this will be a new record for an airport project in Vietnam. Not only the fastest time, this airport is also committed to the best quality and the cheapest price.

Officially starting construction in early December 2024, Gia Binh Airport Project is invested by the Mobile Police Command. The "3 best" of Gia Binh Airport is completely feasible because the construction contractor is Sun Group - the first private enterprise in Vietnam to successfully build the classy and quality Van Don International Airport in less than 2 years.

Perspective of Gia Binh airport terminal.

Not only is it an important national defense and security project, after starting phase I, Bac Ninh is focusing on building a project to submit to the Government for approval of a supplementary plan to upgrade Gia Binh Airport into an airport, serving international diplomatic delegations, transporting passengers and goods, extending the runway from 3.05 km to 4.5 km to be able to receive the world's largest aircraft.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of Gia Binh airport, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that developing an airport system to serve the development of the aviation economy, or exploiting space, is one of the new development drivers, contributing to promoting new productive forces. Vietnam needs to focus on exploiting space, exploiting sea space and underground space. These are very important spaces, which are the ecosystem for developing the country's economy.

The Head of Government said that the construction of an airport system in the three regions of the North, Central and South, in addition to economic significance, also contributes to ensuring national security and defense, with dual-use airports (both for civil use and national defense and security).

Sun Group commits to build Gia Binh airport within 12 months.

Mobilizing the private sector to build airports is a trend.

Airports are important economic entities. According to one study, US airports generate $1.4 trillion in economic activity each year and support 11.5 million jobs. In Australia, where the population is relatively small but long distances make flying a necessity, the country’s airports are expected to contribute $105 billion in value added to the national economy by 2022, or about 5% of GDP, and support 690,000 full-time equivalent jobs (Deloitte Access Economics Report, 2023).

It is not difficult to explain the above statistics when airports today are important transit points for the flow of people and goods. Convenient trade contributes to attracting investment, developing the economy, import and export, tourism, creating momentum for the economy. Especially, in areas with complex and difficult terrain such as mountains, islands, etc., the presence of airports will shorten geographical distances, develop the economy in remote areas, and ensure national security and defense.

According to the Center for Aviation (CAPA), airport construction has slowed down during the Covid-19 pandemic, but investment commitments still amount to hundreds of billions of USD. Asia-Pacific leads in the number of airport projects and committed investments in existing and new airports.

In terms of investment resources, in a difficult context, paving the way for private investment in airports is a trend. For example, in the US, which has more airports than any other country, many new airport construction projects have opened the door for private investment. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the US has a total of 19,633 airports nationwide, of which 14,551 are private.

Vietnam has 22 airports, serving 100 million passengers per year. The vision is to have 33 airports by 2050. In addition, many localities have proposed adding airports to develop the economy and society, meeting the travel needs of the people.

Van Don International Airport – Vietnam's first private airport invested and built by Sun Group.

Reporting to the National Assembly in October 2023, the Ministry of Transport said that in addition to Van Don Airport (Quang Ninh), in the coming time, it is expected that 9 more airports will invite socialized capital, including newly invested airports and operating airports for expansion investment. Private enterprises building airports will help optimize costs, avoid capital increases, and avoid negativity.

The Government has assigned the Ministry of Transport to develop a project on socialization of investment and exploitation of airport infrastructure, including assessing the results of socialization of investment in transport infrastructure; proposing comprehensive solutions based on science and practice to mobilize social capital for investment in airports.

According to the leader of the Ministry of Transport, with 22 existing airports and 33 planned airports all identified for joint military and civil use, it has demonstrated the unique characteristics and important role of the airport network, creating a driving force for socio-economic development.

In the context that up to 58% of tourists in the world travel by air (according to the World Tourism Organization - UNWTO) and 40% of the world's export value is generated through air transport (according to the Air Transport Action Group - ATAG), it is easy to see that the role of aviation infrastructure for countries, including Vietnam, in creating a launching pad for economic breakthroughs is undeniable.

A network of interconnected airports will create the “blood vessels” for the economy. The denser the “blood vessels” network, the more convenient the trade between regions, between Vietnam and the world. In order for Vietnam to become a world aviation transit center as directed by the Prime Minister, attracting socialized resources to invest in airport infrastructure is extremely important, thereby creating a breakthrough for the economy to accelerate in the “era of national development”.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/tao-mui-dot-pha-cho-kinh-te-trong-ky-nguyen-vuon-minh-cua-dan-toc-d235023.html