The first calibration flight landed safely at Van Don International Airport in the northern province of Quang Ninh, the first privately funded airport in Vietnam, at 10am on July 11, marking a new milestone in the process of preparing the airport for formal operations.
The first calibration flight lands at the Van Don International Airport at 10am on July 11
Construction of the airport began in March 2016 on an area of 325 hectares in Van Don district’s Doan Ket commune, with a total investment capital of VND7.7 trillion (US$338.8 million), provided by Sun Group in the form of build-operate-transfer (BOT).
The Van Don International Airport has been approved by the Ministry of Transport to be an airport that meets the 4E criteria set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, and a second-class military airport.
Scheduled to be officially operational by December 2018, the airport, featuring a 3.6km long and 45m wide runway, will be capable of handling large cargo and passenger aircrafts, and will serve nine flight routes with a capacity of handling 7,000 passenger arrivals per day.
The airport’s terminal covers approximately 27,000 square metres, and is capable of serving 2.5 million passengers annually and up to 1,250 passengers per hour during peak hours in the first phase until 2020. The aircraft landing area is designed to accommodate seven aircraft for the first phase and 15 aircraft for the second phase until 2030.
Chairman of the Quang Ninh provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Long emphasised that the success of the Van Don International Airport will be an important push for Quang Ninh to continue mobilising huge investment resources, towards fast, strong and sustainable development.
Once put into operation, the airport is expected to create thousands of jobs and provide a stable income for many local labourers, contributing to improving the life quality of Van Don Island district’s residents.
The project will also open up new trade opportunities to help Van Don’s economy and tourism to fly high, thereby contributing to developing Quang Ninh into an international tourism centre and one of the country’s key tourism destinations.