HÀ NỘI - Cát Bi International Airport in the northern Hải Phòng port city began operations yesterday after it underwent upgrades for more than two years.

This was done under a plan approved by the then Prime Minister in 2012.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc said the airport was expected to help not only Hải Phòng City, but also the northern coastal region to maximise their potential and strengths.

The airport, together with Hải Phòng International Port, Tân Vũ-Lạch Huyện Bridge and Hà Nội-Hải Phòng and Quảng Ninh-Hải Phòng Expressways, will form a complete transport network, facilitating socio-economic development and ensuring national defence and security in the region, Phúc said.

He urged the Ministry of Transport, the city and other localities to speed up the construction of transport, tourism and service infrastructure networks in order to make the best use of the airport.

He also asked Airports Corporation of Việt Nam and Việt Nam Air Traffic Management Corporation to maintain and protect the airport’s infrastructure, and co-ordinate with customs and police forces to ensure safety of flights.

Cát Bi has becomes a 4E-level international airport under the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards, a first-level military airport and a standby for Hà Nội-based Nội Bài International Airport.

It is capable of accommodating Boeing 777, Boeing 747 and similar models, according to the municipal People’s Committee.

Currently, the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and low-cost airlines Vietjet Air and Jetstar Pacific Airlines have been offering flights to and from Cát Bi International Airport, including five domestic routes to HCM City, Đà Nẵng, Nha Trang, Pleiku and Buôn Mê Thuột.

More services will be launched linking the airport with destinations at home and abroad, including Phú Quốc Island District in the southern Kiên Giang Province as of yesterday, Đà Lạt City in the Lâm Đồng Province from May 20, followed by routes to Nghệ An province and Cần Thơ City as well as China, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Thailand.

At the ceremony, Cát Bi received the decision recognising it as an international airport.

In the first quarter of this year, the airport welcomed 363,600 passengers, up 48.7 per cent and handled 1.610 tonnes of cargo, up 15 per cent.

By 2020, the number of passengers is expected to reach 2.3 million while the amount of cargo will top 11,000 tonnes.

Hải Phòng international container terminal project launched

Construction on the Hải Phòng International Container Terminal (component B) began in Cát Hải District in the northern port of Hải Phòng City yesterday.

“The two 750m-long wharfs in the component will sit on an area of 40ha each and cost a total of US$321 million. Once completed in 2018, the terminal will become the first deep-water port in the north, capable of receiving vessels up to 100,000 DWT,” Nguyễn Đăng Nghiêm, the Sài Gòn Newport Corporation’s general director, said.

It is also expected to be a major point connecting with international deep-water ports at Cái Mép-Thị Vải, making it easier for Vietnamese goods to navigate European and American markets.

Addressing the ground-breaking ceremony, Prime Minister Phúc lauded the Sài Gòn Newport Corporation, the Japanese Molnykit company and the Hải Phòng International Container Port Company for launching the project as scheduled.

He also thanked the Japanese government for providing support for Molnykit throughout the process.

Japanese Ambassador to Việt Nam Fukada Hiroshi hailed the project as a symbol of Việt Nam-Japan ties and a pilot one in infrastructure in the form of public-private partnership.

In order to put the port into operation in 2018, the Prime Minister asked investors, contractors and relevant units to seriously comply with commitments in the contract in line with the law, ensuring the progress and quality of the project.

Hải Phòng City widely open for international trade

The city is expected to attract more resources in building a green, modern and civilised port city in the future thank to an adequate and synchronous infrastructure system together with open investment environment.

In the middle of last December, Rent-A-Port Group, Belgian experts in marine infrastructure and industrial zone development, started construction of South Đình Vũ Industrial Zone 2 (Deep C II) on an area of 650ha.

The $117 million Deep C II project has a total area of 513ha, lying closest to Lạch Huyện Deep Sea Port (7km) and Cát Bi International Airport (6km), directly connected to Hà Nội–Hải Phòng New Highway and Tân Vũ–Lạch Huyện Bridge. With this strategic location, Deep C II expects to rapidly complete its infrastructure development and hand over 40ha to committed clients in 2017.

Statistics from the municipal Department of Planning and Investment, in the first four months of the year, the city attracted more than $1.69 billion of FDI, over five time higher than the same period last year and accounting for 89 per cent of the whole year’s target.

The city has welcomed big companies such as LG, Bridgestone, Fuji Xerox, and Haengsung Electronics Việt Nam, in addition to JX Nippon Oil and General Electric, to take advantages of FTAs. Local investors have also sought investment opportunities to make use of the city’s preferential policies.

“Hải Phòng City and the business community have been ready in welcome both opportunities and challenges from TPP, ASEAN Economic Community and others,” Lê Văn Thành, the city’s chairman, said. – VNS