The Ministry of Transport has approved a plan to build an airport in Sa Pa in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai.

A mock-up of Sa Pa Airport in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai.
(Photo baogiaothong.vn)

Construction is scheduled to start this year and will be completed in 2021.

The project is worth 5.9 trillion VND (254 million USD), including 3.09 trillion VND (133 million USD) from the State budget, 910 billion VND (39 million USD) from the local budget and about 1.77 trillion VND (76.2 million USD) from the private sector.

The decision was recently signed by Deputy Minister of Transport Le Tuan Anh. Under the project, the airport will be used for both civil and military purposes and will be located in Cam Con commune, Bao Yen district.

It will be built following 4C standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. 4C means comfort, convenience, cleanliness and customer services.

The airport will have a runaway of 2,400 metres long and 45 metres wide. It also will have the potential to extend the runway to 3,050 metres in 2030 if necessary.

The apron will be able to handle a maximum of nine Airbus A320, Airbus A321 or the equivalent.

The passenger terminal will have two levels for departures and arrivals. There will also be room to build another passenger terminal and a cargo terminal after 2030 if necessary.

In the short term, all cargo will be handled at the passenger terminal.

There will be a six-lane road connecting the Noi Bai – Lao Cai Expressway to the airport.

Dang Xuan Phong, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee of Lao Cai, said it was estimated that nearly 4.2 million of tourists visited the province in 2018, about 21 percent more than 2017.

The number of visitors was expected to reach about 5 million this year, he said.

The main customers for Sa Pa airport are predicted to be tourists from across the country, and China’s Yunnan province.

Sa Pa is a small, mountainous town. It is located about 350km northwest of Hanoi. Sa Pa welcomes a diverse range of visitors, attracted by the highland tribes, iconic rice paddies and forest treks.