Existing airports left idle, new airports built
While many airports in the Mekong Delta are still idle, the Ministry of Transport is considering building new ones. MOT is planning to build an airport in the southern province of An Giang with estimated investment capital of VND 3.4 trillion. The domestic airport, designed to be located in Can Dang commune of Chau Thanh district, will be used for taxi flights, general aviation and search & rescue activities. Under the plan, in the first phase of development which lasts until 2020, a 1,850 m x 45 m runway will be set up for ATR72 or equivalent aircraft. In the next development period, the airport will be upgraded to be capable to exploit A321s. It is expected that the airport can serve 100,000 passengers a year by 2030. According to Vuong Binh Thanh, chair of An Giang province, said there are three airports in the locality, but they mostly serve military purposes and cannot be expanded.
