Tan Son Nhat gets 21ha of military land for expansion Vietnam’s aviation sector is now able to build additional airport facilities on a large military land plot adjacent to Tan Son Nhat International Airport, following a land transfer ceremony on Tuesday.   An official is seen in front of the newly transferred land plot. Tuoi Tre During the ceremony, the Ministry of Defense transferred the land to its transport counterpart, allowing the latter to start the project to expand the capacity of the overloaded Ho Chi Minh City-based airport. Lai Xuan Thanh, head of the transport ministry’s Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, said the land plot, previously home to military aircraft until Tuesday, will see construction of a new taxiway and a number of airport aprons for Tan Son Nhat. The new facilities will contribute to the plan to increase the airport’s capacity by 10 million passengers a year from the current 25 million, Thanh said at the ceremony. Tan Son Nhat currently has 50 aprons, falling short of  the demand of 67 parking spaces, according to the CAAV head. With the additional land, 30 to 35 new aprons will be built, resolving the shortfall, Thanh said. The official added that the taxiway and apron projects should be completed by the end of this year. Despite a design capacity of 25 million passengers per year, last year Tan Son Nhat served more than 32 million flyers, and that number is expected to keep rising over the next few years. “By transferring the right to use the land to serve Tan Son Nhat’s expansion plan, the defense ministry has made a significant contribution to ease pressure on the airport and to the development of the aviation sector,” Thanh said. The 21 hectares used to be where one brigade and one regiment of Vietnam’s Air Force parked their aircraft. Following Tuesday’s transfer, the two units are expected to relocate to the neighboring province of Dong Nai. TUOI TRE NEWS