Gov’t urges speedy approval of new plan for Phan Thiet airport Binh Thuan - The government has urged the Ministry of National Defence and other agencies to approve the adjustment plan for the combined civilian and military Phan Thiet Airport in Binh Thuan province. The Phan Thiet Airport is expected to open by 2020 (Photo: baogiaothong.vn) The airport will be upgraded from 4C to 4E standard of the International Civil Aviation Organisation as part of the country’s airport planning, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV). The upgrade will make the airport meet the requirements of flights using code E aircraft between Phan Thiet and Noi Bai in Hanoi, Van Don in Quang Ninh province and Cat Bi in Hai Phong city. The airport upgrade will allow flights of high-end military aircraft. The airport’s runway will be lengthened from 2,400 metres to 3,050 metres, and airplane parking lots will be expanded to contain two code E and four code C aircraft. The size of the terminal will increase from 5,000 square metres to 19,200 square metres, serving 2 million passengers a year instead of 500,000 as previously planned. The investment capital for the project will total 10.2 trillion VND (456 million USD) from now to 2020, and 332 billion VND (14.75 million USD) from 2020 to 2030. Rang Dong JSC is the contractor for the civilian component of the plan, which is under the BOT (build-operate-transfer) form, according to CAAV. The military component will be built under the BT (build-transfer) form by the Ministry of National Defence. Construction on Phan Thiet airport began in 2015. It is expected to open by 2020. VNS/VNA