Yên Bái Airport is proposed to be at 4C grade under the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), with an expected capacity of 800,000 to 1 million passengers per year, and a military airport of grade 2. — Photo baophapluat.vn

YÊN BÁI — The People's Committee of Yên Bái Province has sent a request to the Ministry of Transport and the Civil Aviation Administration of Việt Nam to add Yên Bái Airport to the master plan on the development of the national airport system in the period of 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, the Ministry of Transport said.

In the written request, Yên Bái Airport is proposed to be at 4C grade under the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), with an expected capacity of 800,000 to 1 million passengers per year, and a military airport of grade 2.

The investment will be in the form of public-private partnership (PPP) with the planning period of 2021-2030.

According to the local authority, the province is located in the centre of the northern midland and mountainous region, and between the northeast and northwest regions.

Yên Bái is also located on the economic corridor of Kunming – Lào Cai Province - Hà Nội - Hải Phòng - Quảng Ninh Province, which is the trans-shipment hub of road, railway and waterway transport routes from Hà Nội, Hải Phòng and Quảng Ninh to Lào Cai border gate.

Additionally, Yên Bái Province is a locality with rich and attractive tourist and cultural resources such as Mù Cang Chải terraced fields, Thác Bà Lake, and the intangible cultural heritage of the Art of Xoè Thái.

In order to fully exploit the advantages of Yên Bái, the development of aviation infrastructure is important and necessary, says the document.

Therefore, Yên Bái Province proposed to add Yên Bái Airport to the master plan on the development of the national airport system in the period of 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050.

Despite being a locality with the Nội Bài-Lào Cai Expressway running through it and being not far from the Sa Pa airport project that is about to be built, Yên Bái Province still wants to have its own airport.

Last month, the Civil Aviation Administration of Việt Nam (CAAV) had a meeting with the People's Committee of Yên Bái Province on the proposal of adding Yên Bái Airport to the master plan on development of the national airport system.

Preliminary research results of the CAAV showed that Yên Bái Airport is feasible for civil aviation operations.

In the future, when Sa Pa Airport is in operation, it will be necessary to establish additional flight methods and unify the coordination and operation of the overlapping areas between the two airports, according to the CAAV.

Currently, the province has a military airport grade 2 managed by Regiment 921 of the Air Defence and Air Force Service (Ministry of Defence) in Yên Bái City.

The military airport has a total area of ​​279.47ha with a runway length of 2,400m, which is convenient for military and civil services. — VNS