Middle Airports Authority Renovates for Competition

Middle Airports Authority Renovates for Competition

The directorate of the Middle Airports Authority has announced recently that they require around US$75 million to expand and modernise the authority in a bid to become more competitive both in the region and the world.

In conjunction with the opening of Chu Lai and Cam Ranh airports, this will attract more foreign-invested projects into the central region such as the Furama Resort, Dung Quat Oil Refinery Complex, Chu Lai Open Economic Zone and dozen of others worth tens of billions of dollars.

The authority has reported an annual growth rate of 10-15 percent since 1998. It includes Da Nang International Aviation Port and satellite airports such as Phu Bai, Nha Trang, Phu Cat, Pleiku, Cam Ranh and Chu Lai.

Da Nang International Airport is one of Vietnam’s three international airports and is the “nerve centre” of Central Vietnam’s civil airport. It is equipped with modern facilities which can support all technical requirements for large commercial aircraft such as the Boeing 747, 767, 737 and A320 models. Many international airlines use Da Nang as a transit port, providing connection to international.

Since 2000, many international routes have been launched from Da Nang, for example to and from Bangkok and Hong Kong. The authority plans to serve 2-2.5 million passengers a year from now to 2005.

Improving the qualifications of over 900 employees is an important task which will help the authority improve its business capacity, stressed Nguyen Lai, the authority’s Director General.

• V.L