It will need to buy 100 million shares, equivalent to the 4.6 percent stake held by non-state investors, which could cost around VND8 trillion ($345 million) at current market prices.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong said: "We will come up with a plan to buy and raise the money once the proposal has been approved."

The ministry said in a proposal to the government earlier this week that it wants to make the ACV a wholly state-owned entity to ensure the highest safety standards.

The government currently holds a 95.4 percent stake in the airports operator, while foreign investors own 3.61 percent and domestic shareholders, 0.99 percent.

ACV runs 21 of the country’s 22 airports – the other being a private airport in northern Quang Ninh Province – and is responsible for building runways, parking bays and terminals there.

Vietnamese airports served 103.5 million passengers last year, up 11 percent from 2017, according to ACV.