Van Don International Airport in the northern province of Quang Ninh, developed by Sun Group, is on track to start commercial flights by the end of this year, with construction of the technical system near completion.

According to the airport’s management board, the construction of the terminal, air traffic control tower and operation tower of the VND7.5 trillion (US$330 million) airport was already completed.

Other construction was 95 per cent finished and was on track for the airport to be put into official operation as scheduled on December 25.

The management board also said that along with speeding up construction, it was doing the market search for flights to ensure the operation efficiency of the first privately-invested airport in Viet Nam.

Focus would be placed on flights to and from Northeast Asian destinations including Korea, Japan, China and Taiwan, and Southeast Asian ones including Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia.

In the domestic market, Van Don International Airport would promote flights to the country’s central and southern regions with destinations like Hue, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Da Lat and Phu Quoc.

The airport was also working with domestic carriers Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet to launch domestic, international and charter flights.

Construction started on Van Don International Airport in 2015 on an area of 288ha in Doan Ket Commune, Van Don District. It has a planned capacity of 2.5 million passengers per year by 2020 and five million by 2030.

On July 11, the airport received the first aircraft landing on its runway as a calibration flight.

In December, Quang Ninh Province plans to put two other major transportation projects into operation: Hon Gai International Passenger Port (also developed by Sun Group) and Ha Long–Van Don Expressway. The three projects had a total investment of VND25 trillion. — VNS