T2 international terminal at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport will be expanded to 115,834 square meters in size that can handle 13 million passengers per year after Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang approved the expansion proposal. — Photo vietnamairport.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang has approved a proposal from the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) to expand the T2 international terminal at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

As reported in Dau Tu (Investment) newspaper, the project will see investment of over VND2,300 billion (over US$109.5 million). The development investment fund of the corporation will be used for consultancy and project management, while loans from commercial banks will be spent on erection and equipment purchase.

The project is divided into two phases. In the first phase, the east wing of the terminal will be expanded at a cost of approximately VND1,523 billion ($72.5 million). In the second phase, its west wing will be enlarged at an investment of VND787 billion ($37.4 million).

The construction is expected to start in November and be completed in 26 months.

The upgraded terminal will be 115,834 square metres in size and handle about 13 million passengers per year.

The T2 international terminal began operations in September 2007 with designed capacity of eight to 10 million passengers per year. It has served 9.2 million passengers per year for six years and is projected to reach 9.8 million passengers at the end of 2014.

It is predicted that Tan Son Nhat International Airport will receive 29 million passengers in 2018, including 13 million foreigners that exceeds the capacity on the first design of the airport.

Meanwhile, the construction of Long Thanh International Airport will be complete only after 2024, thus ensuring that mainly Tan Son Nhat International Airport will ferry foreign passengers to the south of Viet Nam for the next ten years. — VNS