Van Don International Airport in the northern province of Quang Ninh, the first airport invested by a private business in Viet Nam, is scheduled to be operational in late June 2018, instead of in late March as previously announced.

The airport, on Van Don Island, was invested with nearly VND7.5 trillion (US$330 million) by property developer Sun Group.

In April, Sun Group established Van Don Investment and Development JSC, which will operate the facility when it becomes operational. The other 21 airports in Viet Nam are operated by the Airports Corporation of Viet Nam (ACV).

The airport started construction in 2015 and is the first airport project in Viet Nam developed under build-operate-transfer (BOT) format, with a payback period of 45 years.

In February, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc approved the policy to upscale the airport from a domestic to international airport.

The airport’s 3.6km runway is nearly complete and the developer is hastening construction of other works to put the airport into operation. Besides, two additional parking lots will be built and the lighting system will be upgraded to receive large aircraft like A350s and B787s.

It is designed to serve two million passengers a year by 2020 and will be expanded to serve five million passengers annually by 2030 if demand for travel through the airport increases.

The airport, a key project in Van Don Economic Zone, will also be able to accommodate military aircraft.

It is expected to help attract investment and tourists to Van Don Island and Ha Long Bay. — VNS