At a recent working session with Transport Minister Nguyen Van The and leaders of the Quang Binh province, Trinh Van Quyet, chairman of FLC Group, which was approved in principle to invest in and upgrade Dong Hoi to an international airport, said that his group has finalized an upgrading proposal for the airport with two passenger terminals and total design capacity of 10 million passengers per year. After the upgrade, the airport can also receive airplanes of A350 and B787.
Dong Hoi Airport is important for Quang Binh to attract visitors to its heritage sites
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Currently, Dong Hoi is a domestic airport with design capacity of only 500,000 passengers per year. Last year, the number of tourists to the northern province of Quang Binh met the airport’s design capacity.
Addressing the working session, Minister The said that the transport ministry supported the FLC Group’s investment plan to upgrade the Dong Hoi Airport and it will create favorable conditions for Quang Binh province and FLC Group to implement the project.
The also asked the FLC Group to rapidly complete a project on setting up the Bamboo Airways to put it into operation soon.
Earlier, the Quang Binh People’s Committee approved in principle real estate developer FLC Group to invest in and upgrade Dong Hoi to an international airport under the public-private-partnership (PPP) model.
According to the document, the Dong Hoi Airport is under the management of Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) and Ministry of Transport. Therefore, Quang Binh Province has asked FLC to work with the ministry and ACV. The province, on its part, has promised to provide favorable conditions for the group to implement the project.
On April 7, 2018, FLC submitted a proposal to relevant ministries and agencies on investment to upgrade the airport.
Meanwhile, the Government has asked the Ministry of Transport to consider a master plan for upgrading the airport so that it can receive larger aircraft and meet higher demand for air travel.
Once approved officially, FLC Group will strictly go through the investment and operation procedures in line with the prevailing regulations, the company said in its proposal.
FLC signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus last month to purchase 24 A321neo aircraft for its start-up carrier, Bamboo Airways.
Bamboo Airways is expected to begin operations late this year, with aircraft to be leased from third-party lessors before taking delivery of the aircraft under the deal with Airbus.
The airline will focus on bringing domestic and international tourists to some of the country’s increasingly popular destinations, such as Quy Nhon, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Thanh Hoa and Quang Binh.
“With a strategic location in the north-central region, Dong Hoi Airport has been important for Quang Binh to connect to world heritage sites in the central region while providing a convenient transit for many flights nationwide,” FLC said.
Dang Tat Thang, deputy general director of FLC cum general director of the airline, said that the upgrade of the airport to welcome the increasing number of tourists to Quang Binh Province should be implemented soon.
