The 543ha Phan Thiet Airport in the central province of Binh Thuan is expected to be ready next year. — Photo binhthuan.gov.vn

Binh Thuan Province authorities held a meeting with the Ministry of Defence and other relevant agencies on Tuesday to discuss speeding up of the construction of the civilian-military Phan Thiet Airport.

They urged the ministry to quickly pay compensation to land owners. Of VND135 billion (US$6 million), only around VND50 billion ($2.2 million) has been paid so far.

The ministry should sanction the extra money needed to upgrade the runway from 4C to 4E standard of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), they said.

The ministry should identify the builder of the military section of the airport so that the work can proceed quickly, they said.

Minister of Defence Ngo Xuan Lich urged the province authorities to acquire land and hand it over to the builders.

The 543ha Phan Thiet Airport in Thien Nghiep Commune is being built in BOT (build-operate-transfer) mode at an estimated cost of VNĐ5.6 trillion ($247 million).

Rạng Đông JSC is the contractor for the civilian component, which is expected to cost VNĐ1.64 trillion ($73.5 million).

The construction began in 2015 and the airport is scheduled to open next year.

It will have a capacity of 500,000 passengers and 10,000 tonnes of cargo a year.

The airport is expected to help develop tourism and other services and attract investors by reducing the time it takes to travel to Phan Thiet from the rest of the country.

Việt Nam has total 21 operational airports, nine of them international: Noi Bai, Cam Ranh, Da Nang, Phu Bai, Vinh, Chu Lai, Tan Son Nhat, Can Tho (Tra Noc) and Phu Quoc. — VNS