Dien Bien airport expansion project to kick off in December

Hanoi (VNA) – A project on expanding and upgrading Dien Bien airport in the northwestern province of Dien Bien is scheduled to begin in December and be completed in October 2023, according to a direction issued by Deputy Minister of Transport Le Anh Tuan.

The expansion project was approved on March 27 with the aim of increasing its capacity to 500,000 passengers per year. The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) is the investor of the project, which is estimated to cost 1,547 billion VND (67 million USD).

The airport will be upgraded to receive large aircraft such as Airbus A320s and A321s and those with equivalent sizes.

In his direction, Tuan tasked the ACV to ratify the project in September so mine clearance could start in October.

In December, the project will begin, with the apron constructed immediately.

The terminal section will be built from January 2022. In April 2022, the runway will be constructed.

The old airport is expected to close from April 2023, with the project expected to finish in October 2023.

The Dien Bien Airport, 500 kilometers to the west of Hanoi, is the largest and the only commercial airport in the northwestern region of Vietnam. 

It was originally a military airport built in 1954. It began commercial operations in 1994. It has one 1,830-meter runway that can handle short-haul ATR72 and smaller aircraft. Its current capacity is 300,000 passengers per year./.