Cam Ranh inaugurates new terminal

Cam Ranh International Airport in the central province of Khanh Hoa on Saturday officially opened a new terminal for international services (first phase) which has total investment of over VND3.7 trillion (US$164 million).– Photo acv

After 19 months of construction, the new terminal T2 was put into use to ease the serious overloading of Terminal 1. It is the first airport terminal in Viet Nam to be built with 4-star international standards.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The underlined the importance of transport infrastructure to investment attraction and socio-economic development.

The operation of the new international terminal will not only reduce the burden on Cam Ranh International Airport which has been overloaded for years but also improve infrastructure of the airport, he said, adding that the second runway of the airport is under construction and scheduled to be operational by the end of this year.

The three-storey terminal sits on a site of over 50,000sq.m and is designed in the shape of a swallow’s nest – a specialty and symbol of Khanh Hoa.

The terminal is capable of serving 2.4-4.5 million passengers each year and after the second phase is complete, its capacity could reach 6-8 million passengers per year by 2030.

On its inaugural day, two international flights to Hangzhou City, China and Incheon, the Republic of Korea, departed from the new terminal on the evening of June 30.

On June 29, the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines said it would operate international flights to and from Cam Ranh airport in the central province of Khanh Hoa at the new terminal T2 from July.

Vietnam Airlines would run eight counters at T2, with two serving business-class and Sky Priority passengers. The 210sq.m business lounge area is located on the second floor, serving Golden Lotus members and business-class passengers.

Cam Ranh International Airport is the main aviation gate to the popular sea resort city of Nha Trang, in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa. Last year, tourist arrivals in the city reached 5.5 million.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, Khanh Hoa welcomed over 2.44 million tourists in January-May, up 20.8 per cent year-on-year, including 1.17 million foreigners, marking a rise of roughly 50 per cent.

Last year, Vietnam Airlines transported more than 730,000 foreign tourists to Khanh Hoa, up nearly 35 per cent annually. The figure reached 500,000 in the first half of this year. – VNS