KHÁNH HÒA — The Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) and the Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank) will provide loans for investment in Cam Ranh Airport’s international terminal in central Khánh Hòa Province.

An agreement on the loans, which are worth up to VNĐ2.9 trillion (roughtly US$127 million), was signed by the two banks at a ceremony in the province’s Nha Trang city on Monday.

Accounting for 80 per cent of the total investment in the international terminal project and divided equally between the two banks, the loans will help complete the first phase of construction which is ongoing and expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year.

The project is to be carried out in three stages with total investment of nearly VNĐ4 trillion ($180 million). It is expected to serve about 4,000 passengers during peak hours when completed.

The first stage is expected to allow the terminal to greet 2.5 million passengers annually. The number of passengers is expected to hit 4 million in the second phase and 8 million at the end of the third phase in 2030. 

With plans to serve the robust increase in foreign tourists at the airport, the project is considered key for tourism development in Khánh Hòa.

The Cam Ranh International Terminal JSC last September began construction on the international terminal-a two-storey building to cover a 50,000sq.m.-area.

In March, 2015, Khánh Hòa pumped more than VNĐ1.9 trillion ($85.5 million) into building the second taxiway at Cam Ranh Airport, which is scheduled to be put into operation in early 2018. 

Cam Ranh Airport was built by US troops to serve military missions during wartime and was converted into a civil airport in 2004. It was upgraded to an international airport in 2009. 

The airport received 3.3 million passengers in the first eight months of last year, including 1.5 million foreigners. It’s designed annual capacity is 1.5 million passengers. In 2015, the airport welcomed more than 2.7 million passengers, exceeding its capacity by 80 per cent. The number of foreign passengers was nearly 900,000. — VNS