KHÁNH HÒA — Cam Ranh International Terminal JSC has submitted to the Ministry of Transport a study on the construction of an international terminal at the Cam Ranh International Airport in the central province of Khánh Hòa.

The project, with a total investment capital of nearly VNĐ3.4 trillion (US$152 million), was designed to receive four million passengers per year. The capacity would be increased to six million passengers in 2030 to meet the increase in passengers to Nha Trang City.

The international terminal is planned to cover an area of approximately 52,000 square metres with 80 check-in counters, 10 boarding gates and six baggage carousels.

Singapore architecture firm CPG Consultants and US-based PAE were selected as the project’s consultancy design unit. The two firms have previously consulted on designs of terminals at Phú Quốc, Cần Thơ, Vinh, Cát Bi, Thọ Xuân and Đà Nẵng airports.

The project would be inaugurated early this September if it receives approval from the ministry. As scheduled, the project would be completed and be put into operation in December 2017.

Currently, the international terminal of Cam Ranh International Airport has a capacity of 1.5 million passengers annually. In the past several years, the number of passengers have increased remarkably between 30 and 60 per cent per year. By the end of last year, the airport welcomed more than 2.7 million passengers, overloading its capacity.

The opening of new international routes to the airport has also contributed to the overload of the terminal, and the infrastructure can no longer meet the quality of passenger services that customers desire. Non-aviation services such as beverage shops, souvenir shops and duty-free shops are not available at the terminal.

In 2014, the Airports Corporation of Việt Nam (ACV) implemented the renovation and upgrade of the current terminal to enable it to handle 2.6 million passengers a year. However, the number of passengers going through the airport last year has already reached that capacity.

Thus, the construction of a new international terminal is essential and urgent as it would separate the operations of the international and domestic terminals and meet the development needs of Nha Trang City, a representative of the company said. — VNS