The Airports Corporation of Vietnam has come into existence following an inauguration ceremony at HCM City 's Tan Son Nhat International Airport on Feb. 18.

The Ministry of Transport has mandated that the agency, formed by merging the Northern, Central and Southern Airports Corporations, will operate as a one-member State-owned limited company.

The 14.7 trillion VND (705 million USD) corporation will perform a variety of tasks, including ensuring safety and security, and importing and exporting aviation equipment.

Nguyen Nguyen Hung, former general director of the Southern Airports Corp, is its first chairman of the board of members, while Le Manh Hung, former general director of the Northern Airports Corp, is its general director.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang said the merger of the three corporations was "indispensable" for the development of the country's aviation industry and as preparation for establishing a national aviation group.

Setting up of the new corporation should not affect the operation of airports around the country, but improve their staff's living standards, he said.

It would soon focus on the completion of T2 Terminal at Hanoi 's Noi Bai Airport and terminals at Cam Ranh and Phu Quoc airports, he said.

In the long term, the ACV will equitise its subsidiaries and get investment from local and overseas sources into civil aviation infrastructure, he added.-VNA