Hanoi (VNA) – A second airport in the capital region is expectedto take shape by 2050 to ease the burden on the Noi BaiInternational Airport, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Responding to the Hanoi People’s Committee’sproposal on the building of the airport, the ministry said theconstruction matches Hanoi’s development orientations by 2030 with a visiontowards 2045, and the national master plan for 2021-2030 with a vision towards2050.

The ministry said it will instruct relevant agenciesto work on the location and planning criteria for the second airport, andreport results to the Prime Minister for decision.

The proposal on the airport’s function will be madebased on study results on airspace, and air routes and flight methods, theministry said, citing the approved  nationalairport system planning as saying that domestic airports are allowed to serve irregularinternational flights.

The ministry may propose the Prime Minister to convertdomestic airports into international ones if air carriers desire to operateregular international flights and the infrastructure is qualified, he said,noting that the move aims to utilise the airport system, serve socio-economicdevelopment and ensure the flexibility and openness of the planning.

In the document, the ministry also asked the People’sCommittee to soon specify the location for the second airport planning.  

The planning scheme should be sketched out with theengagement of foreign consultants experienced in optimising the airspace andensuring flight safety, the ministry said.  

Earlier, the committee proposed potential locationsfor the capital region's second airport, which include the Ly Nhan district area in Ha Namprovince, approximately 60-65km from the city centre; the southern area of thecity in Ung Hoa district, 35-40km from the city centre; Thanh Mien and BinhGiang districts in Hai Duong province, some 45-50km from the city centre; and TienLang district in Hai Phong city, 120km from the city centre.

According to the national airport system planning inthe 2021-2030 period with a vision until 2050, Vietnam is set to have 30airports by 2030, including 14 serving international flights and 16 servingdomestic flights.

The investment is estimated at about 420 trillionVND (18 billion USD), mobilised from the State budget, non-budget capital andother legal capital sources.

Noi Bai International Airport is set to handle about100 million passengers each year, equivalent to the capacity of Long ThanhInternational Airport in the southern region and some big airports in theworld./.