An aerial view of Sa Pa town, which is a famous tourist attraction in Lao Cai province.
In March this year, the provincial government urged Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to approve in principle the project worth more than VND5.9 trillion (US$252 million).
Earlier the provincial People’s Committee submitted a proposal to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, seeking approval to build the airport under a public-private partnership.
In early 2018, the Prime Minister approved the airport planning project until 2020 and decided to elevate the designed capacity of Sa Pa Airport to 3 million passengers per year.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Transport is responsible for working to approve the detailed planning for the airport, laying a basis for the project to be implemented.
In particular, the local People’s Committee should coordinate with the transport ministry and competent agencies to construct the airport in line with current regulations.
Construction is scheduled to start this year and be completed in 2021. It will be built according to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards.
In the proposal, the province said that the project can be financed by the State budget and private funds under public-private partnerships.
More than VND3.08 trillion (US$132 million) from the central State budget will be allocated to develop the airport, including runways, taxiways and aprons, as well as arterial roads to and from the airport.
Meanwhile, the province will use over VND910 billion (US$39 million) from its own budget to finance bomb and mine clearance, demolition and site clearance and resettlement.
Under the plan, Sapa Airport, located in Cam Con Commune, Bao Yen District, Lao Cai province will use 371 ha of land, 100 kilometers from Sapa, and be used for both commercial and military purposes.
A mock-up of Sa Pa Airport. (Photo: moitruongvadothi.vn)
The construction of Sapa Airport will be divided into two phases.
In the first phase which is scheduled to start within this year, Sa Pa airport targets a capacity of 560,000 passengers and 600 tonnes of cargo per year. Aircraft, including A320, A321 and equivalent ones, will be able to land in two locations. The total investment for this phase is estimated at nearly VND 4.7 trillion, including costs for site clearance of the whole project.
The airport is set to receive 1.5 million passengers and 2,880 tonnes of cargo per year in the second phase by 2030. There will be five location for aircraft to land. Total investment is expected at approximately VND 1 trillion.
The provincial People’s Committee proposed calling for private investments to fund the project.
Also, around VND131 billion (US$5.6 million) from the Hanoi-based Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation will be used to develop air-traffic control facilities.
The province will call for the private sector to build a civil aviation zone and a jet fuel depot at a total cost of more than VND1.7 trillion (US$75 million) under the build-operate-transfer format.
Under the zoning criteria for airports by 2020 with a vision toward 2030, this airport is expected to meet the 4C standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization and serve up to three million passengers annually.
Lao Cai is located on the economic corridor of Kunming - Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong and an economic belt based on trade development among provinces in Southwest China.
Currently, the province’s transportation system incorporates only roads and railways. Therefore, an airport is considered important in improving the transportation network, contributing to the diversification of modes of transport and creating new motivation for the development of Lao Cai Province in particular and the northwest mountainous provinces in general.
