HCM CITY — The Ministry of National Defence yesterday handed over 21 hectares of land to the Ministry of Transport to expand the overloaded Tân Sơn Nhất airport, the largest airport in HCM City. 

The signing ceremony was attended by Senior Lieutenant General Trần Đơn, deputy minister of National Defence, and Lê Đình Thọ, deputy minister of Transport, at Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport in HCM City.

Lại Xuân Thanh, director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Việt Nam (CAAV) said the land would be used to build taxiways and airplane parking areas to ensure an increase in capacity of 10 million passengers per year.   

The airport has 50 aprons (airplane parking plots) but the need is 67. Thanh said the problem would be resolved once the land is available.

Construction of new taxiways and airplane parking areas would be finished this year, he said.

An additional 30-35 airplane parking aprons were expected to be built. CAAV would consider placing the aprons to suit each kind of aircraft according to the airport’s design, he said.   

The capacity of the airport is expected to increase to 40-50 million passengers per year in 2018.

The land that was handed over was once used for military airplane parking areas of Military Aviation Brigade 918 and Military Aviation Regiment 917.

The two units will be relocated to Biên Hoà City in the southern province of Đồng Nai. 

“The handover of land plays an essential role in addressing the worsening overload at Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport, contributing to the aviation’s development,” Thanh said.  

With 32 million passengers passing through the airport in 2016, the airport has surpassed its design capacity of 25 million air travellers.

With eight more years until the Long Thành International Airport in Dong Nai Province, the designated successor of Tân Sơn Nhất, is expected to be completed, officials are working on a way to help alleviate the load. — VNS