Work begins on Dien Bien airport’s passenger terminal expansion in northern Vietnam
Two subprojects to upgrade and widen the passenger terminal and build an air traffic control tower at Dien Bien Airport in the namesake province in northern Vietnam got off the ground on Thursday.
The state-owned Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) turned the first sod at the passenger terminal and supporting components on the day, as part of the project to expand Dien Bien Airport.
After the subproject is completed, the annual capacity of the airport will increase to 500,000 passengers from 300,000 passengers, while the total floor area of the passenger terminal will reach 4,270 square meters.
Among the supporting components under the upgrade and construction subproject are fences, a parking lot, security kiosks, firefighting tanks, technical systems, and other equipment.
The subproject, whose contractor is Urban Infrastructure Development Investment Corporation, will cost VND147 billion (US$6.3 million) and be completed in December this year.
Northern Air Traffic Management Company under the Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation on the same day started work on an air traffic control tower at the airport, with a total capital of over VND93 billion ($4 million).
The 36-meter-high tower and some supporting components will cover an area of 6,150 square meters upon completion.
The air traffic control tower project is slated for completion in April 2024.
Dien Bien Airport was restored from Muong Thanh Airport built by the French.
The airport has a 1,830-meter-long runway which was put into use in 1994, while housing simple equipment, an apron with three slots, and a passenger terminal constructed in 2004 with an annual capacity of 300,000 passengers.
Due to the limited infrastructure and the unfavorable position of the runway, the airport only receives ATR 72 turboprop aircraft and Embraer 190 narrow-body planes during the daytime.
The Dien Bien airport expansion project is set to cost nearly VND1.5 trillion ($62.7 million) sourced from ACV, while the province’s budget will cover VND1.56 trillion ($66.5 million) for site clearance.
The project is aimed at widening the passenger terminal, upgrading airport infrastructure, and building a runway which is 2,400 meters long and 45 meters wide to handle larger airliners such as Airbus A320, A321 or the equivalent.
Tieu Bac & Tuan Phung – Tuoi Tre News – April 28, 2023