Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has given instruction to the construction of Sa Pa airport in the northwestern mountainous province of Lao Cai.

A corner of Sa Pa town (Photo: VNA)

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.

The local People’s Committee should coordinate with the transport ministry and competent agencies to construct the airport in line with current regulations.

Last year, Lao Cai province proposed the transport ministry build an airport in Sa Pa with a total investment of nearly 5.8 trillion VND (249 million USD).

Under the plan, Sapa Airport, located in Cam Con Commune, Bao Yen District, Lao Cai province will use 371 ha of land and be used for both commercial and military purposes.

The construction of Sapa Airport will be divided into two phases.

In the first, expected to begin before 2020, the airport targets a capacity of 560,000 passengers and 600 tonnes of cargo per year. Aircraft, including A320, A321 and equivalent, will be able to land in two locations. Total investment for the first phase is estimated at about 4.7 trillion VND (including site clearance cost of the whole project).

In the second phase, the airfield will receive 1.5 million passengers and 2,880 tonnes of cargo per year by 2030. Aircraft would be able to land in five locations. Total investment is set at about 1 trillion VND.

The provincial People’s Committee proposed calling for private investments to fund the project.

Specifically, Lao Cai will call for investment of 160 billion VND from Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation (VATM) and 1.724 trillion VND from Vietnam Aviation Corporation.

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.