Visitors to the Sun World Fansipan Legend tourist site in Sapa (Photo: baolaocai.vn)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) -The People’s Committee of the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai hasproposed the Ministry of Transport construct an airport in Sapa with totalcapital investment of nearly 5.8 trillion VND (252 million USD).
According to the plan, Sapa Airport will be used for both commercial andmilitary purposes, therefore, it should be built as soon as possible.
The airport will be located in Cam Con commune, Bao Yen district, on an areaof 371ha.
The construction of Sapa Airport will be divided into two phases.
In the first phase, expected to begin before 2020, the airport targets acapacity of 560,000 passengers and 600 tonnes of cargo per year.
Aircraft, including A320, A321 and equivalent, will be able to land in twolocations. Total investment for the first phase is estimated at about 4.7trillion VND (including site clearance cost of the whole project).
In the second phase, the airfield will receive 1.5 million passengers and 2,880tonnes of cargo per year by 2030. Aircraft would be able to land in fivelocations. Total investment is set at about 1 trillion VND.
The provincial People’s Committee proposed calling for private investments tofund the project.
Specifically, Lao Cai will call for investment of 160 billion VND from VietnamAir Traffic Management Corporation (VATM) and 1.724 trillion VND from VietnamAviation Corporation.
Lao Cai is located on the economic corridor of Kunming - Lao Cai - Hanoi - HaiPhong and an economic belt based on trade development among provinces inSouthwest China.
Currently, the province’s transportation system incorporates only roads andrailways. Therefore, an airport is considered important in improving thetransportation network, contributing to the diversification of modes oftransport and creating new motivation for the development of Lao Cai provincein particular and the northwest mountainous provinces in general.-VNS/VNA
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