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| Inside waiting area at PQC. The airport is expected to be further expanded to accommodate increasing number of visitors — Photo phuquocairport.vn |
Following the recent unexpected increase in arrivals, Airports Corporation of Viet Nam (ACV) has begun expansion of the Phu Quoc International Airport (PQC), hoping to accommodate five million visitors annually.
“At this point, Phu Quoc International Airport is in need of development. The forecast of 2020 shows that the number of visitors to the airport could be some 2.5-3 million, so a comprehensive extension is necessary,” Huynh Quang Hung, Vice chairman of the People’s Committee of Phu Quoc District, said.
PQC initiated its second phase in April 2015, with total investment of more than VND2 trillion (US$89.4) for all categories, including runway, hangar, passenger terminal and outdoor parking.
On average, the airport daily serves 42 flight both arrivals and departures. In the last nine months, it served 1.6 million visitors to Phu Quoc, an increase of 47.18 per cent compared with the same period last year.
Hung also noted that the total land area provided to the airport by the district to date and in use since 2002 was 905ha, helping the airport to increase the annual number of visitors to the airport.
Presently, PQC has finished some 35 per cent of total construction. It is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2017.
The number of visitors to Phu Quoc through the four main domestic routes from Ha Noi, HCM City, Hai Phong and Can Tho, together with international direct routes from countries such as Russia, Sweden or China is increasing significantly due to a larger number of flights available to the area. — VNS