Transport Minister Dinh La Thang said that along with the new terminal, the airport must invest in human resources so it could deliver high-quality services to international passengers.
Noi Bai was recently ranked among the worst airports in Asia. The airport's management board often cited overwhelmed and aging infrastructure as an excuse for the airport's poor service quality.
The new four-storey terminal can serve 10 million passengers each year, significantly reducing the burden on the existing terminal, which saw 12 million passengers last year.
The new terminal before the opening day.
In other news, a flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Vinh city in the central province of Nghe An encountered technical problems and was forced to make an emergency landing on December 16 afternoon, according to Vietnam Airlines.
The aeroplane, which was carrying 135 passengers and seven crew members, was forced to make a sharp descent when cabin pressure fell. Oxygen masks were deployed to support passengers and crew members.
The plane later landed safely at the Noi Bai International Airport, where Vietnam Airlines transferred passengers to another aircraft to continue their journey to Vinh.
The reason for the incident is under investigation.
The Airbus A321 plane was put into operation in 2008, and the last technical inspection of the aircraft was conducted last month. The flight captain was Pechanec Marek from the Czech Republic.
