$270 mln plan proposed for airport near Mui Ne beach TUOITRENEWS   The planning of Phan Thiet airport is seen in this handout photo provided by Binh Thuan goverment. The coastal province of Binh Thuan’s government has proposed setting up a new airport near its famous Mui Ne beach. The province has worked with officials from the ministries of national defence and transport on the details of the plan that will be submitted to the Minister of National Defence and the Prime Minister for consideration. Specifically, a joint-venture between the 319 Corporation under the defence ministry and the Thanh Dong Real Estate Investment JSC will invest more than VND5.6 trillion, or US$269.23 million, in the terminal spanning some 500 hectares in Thien Nghiep Commune of Phan Thiet city. The project is expected to be finished within two to three years, and the airport would be set to receive its first passengers in 2017. Under the plan, Phan Thiet airport will be capable of serving 500,000 passengers per year, and receiving F70 and ATR72 aircraft by 2020. The capacity will be increased to 1 million passengers by 2030, when the terminal will be capable of receiving A320, A321, and B319 aircraft. The airport will serve both as a civil and military terminal. Economic effectiveness in question In late November last year, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) submitted planning for the Phan Thiet airport to the transport ministry, which later asked relevant agencies for feedback on the plan. In response, the Vietnam Airlines Corporation (VNA) said the plan was developed based on data from 2000 to 2008, which did not reflect the economic fluctuation between 2009 and 2012. “The development of Phan Thiet airport should be considered in the context that there are also many other transport methods to the area, including road, sea, railway, and high-speed railway between Saigon and Nha trang,” VNA said in its feedback. The Ministry of Finance also said the developers should create scenarios for the terminal development as it will be located between Long Thanh airport in the south and Cam Ranh terminal in the north. In response to the above feedback, the Airport Engineering Consultancy and Services (AEC), the project’s consulting unit, said the airport plan will not be much affected by short-term economic fluctuations. “Things will be more carefully considered when the investment plan is started,” the company said. AEC said the Phan Thiet airport is expected to offer 12 air routes with distances below 800km, and 12 services with distances below 2,000km. Meanwhile, Dinh Viet Thang, deputy chairman of the CAAV, said the terminal will help boost the local tourism industry, as the number of tourists to Mui Ne beach in Phan Thiet has soared recently.