A National Assembly deputy from Lam Dong said that construction on Long Thanh International Airport should not be based on casual observations, as Tan Son Nhat Airport’s capacity can be expanded along with others that can handle the load.
During an NA recent discussion on the revision of the Law on Civil Aviation, Deputy Le Van Hoc said the level of investment for Long Thanh International Airport is very high.
Deputy Le Van Hoc said that construction on Long Thanh International Airport should not be based on casual observations.
Meanwhile, four other airports are operating in the vicinity of Tan Son Nhat or Long Thanh International Airport, namely Can Tho, Cam Ranh, Phu Quoc and Lien Khuong. In total, these four airports have a capacity to serve 20 million passengers per year.
The distance between Noi Bai International Airport and Cat Bi and Thanh Hoa Airport is around 100km.
“The civil aviation and transport sector should not depend on visual reports and inaccurate forecasts when it comes to planning. This could cause losses for the state budget,” Mr. Hoc added.
Deputy Hoc cited statistics from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, saying that, at present, Tan Son Nhat Airport will be able to serve 76,800 flights per year and by 2020 and is not in danger of facing an overload.
According to Hoc, profit the aviation sector has been very low. Over the past decade, the international aviation market has faced losses of more than USD50 billion. The aviation market of the Asian Pacific is expected to grow by 10% per year, and Vietnamese aviation market is expected to serve around 150 million passengers by 2020.
Under the aviation sector’s planning by 2020, with a development vision towards 2030, which was approved by the government in 2009, Vietnam will have 26 airports, including 10 international airports.
The country invested USD1.4 billion in domestic airports in the period between 2011 and 2013.
Meanwhile, other forms of transportation also require huge investments from the state budget. The country plans to spend USD80 billion for road network construction by 2020. Vinalines plans to build 160 ships totaling VND100 trillion by 2020.
The Long Thanh International Airport project is planned to take up a 5,000-ha site, and will cost around USD13 billion.