Phu Bai Airport in the central Thua Thien Hue Province.— File Photo

THUA THIEN HUE (Biz Hub)— Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc yesterday attended the reopening ceremony of Phu Bai Airport in the central Thua Thien Hue Province after a 6-month closure for repairs.

Speaking at the ceremony, Phuc said Hue is a tourism hotspot thus a modern airport plays a crucial role in transportation service for visitors to the city.

He reminded local authorities and Airports Corporation of Viet Nam (ACV) to make full use of the newly-repaired airport to serve the socio-economic development of the province as Hue is also a centre of health and education services.

During the closure the airport's runway was expanded in width from 40m to 45m and resurfaced to accommodate the landing of medium-size aircraft such as the A321.

Its terminal was expanded to 6,500sq.m to increase capacity and service 1.5 million passenger a year. During a peak hour, the upgraded terminal can serve 800 passengers and three A321 aircrafts at the same time.

A new car park and taxi lounge with 160 parking spaces has also been built.

The airport upgrades were completed for a total cost of VND700 billion (US$35 million) from ACV's budget.

On September 20, the airport has accommodated flights by national flag carrier Viet Nam Airlines and cheaper domestic carrier VietJetAir from Ha Noi and HCM City to Hue.

Phuc told local authorities to diversify tourism services to attract more visitors to Hue for full exploitation of the airport.

On the same day, Phuc cut ribbons for the completion of the upgrade work to Hue bypass. The work began July of last year to overhaul the degrading bypass which presented traffic safety issues.

The 36km wide bypass upgrade cost the Ministry of Transport VND482 billion ($24 million) to complete. The bypass was put into use in 2004 to reduce dependence on the national highway for traveling to Hue City and to shorten the distance through the locality. — VNS