VietNamNet Bridge – The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has proposed the Ministry of Transport to classify the airports into two groups for better calling for investment, and allow foreign investors to manage the airports.

CAAV’s Head Lai Xuan Thanh said if the proposal gets the approval, this would help attract potential international investors to the Vietnam’s aviation industry.

Under the airport development program in 2012-2020, Vietnam would upgrade and build 26 airports with the total investment capital of VND221 trillion. It would be unfeasible to rely on the state’s budget to implement the airport development.

Therefore, CAAV is considering calling for the investment from different sources. Thanh said it would be better if foreign investors, with the powerful financial capability, management experiences and modern technologies to join forces with the Vietnamese partners to develop the projects, share the financial pressure, experiences and technologies.

The special characteristic of the airports in Vietnam is that they have been used for both civil purposes and military purposes. Under the current laws, the airport management must be 100 percent undertaken by state agencies. The regulations, according to Thanh, make it unfeasible to call for the investment from outside to the construction and management of the airports.

Having realized the problem, CAAV believes that it would be better to classify the existing airports into two groups. The first group includes the ones located on the important positions of the country which play important role in the national defense. These would include the Noi Bai airport in Hanoi, Da Nang in the central region, Tan Son Nhat and Long Thanh in the south, Cam Ranh in Khanh Hoa province.

The second group comprises of the remaining airports.

Regarding the first group of airports, the State would still play the decisive role in the investment and management, while the foreign investment would be allowed at a certain level.

The airports not only play a very important role in the national defense, but also have great potentials for commercial development; therefore, they would be very attractive to investors.

As for the second group of airports, CAAV believes that they should be opened for the investment socialization, which means that Vietnam would encourage investors to develop and manage the airports for mutual profits.

When asked if the airports to be widely opened for investments from outside would be commercially attractive enough to investors, Thanh said that investors may eye the airports in Hue, Can Tho, Da Lat and Nha Trang, because there are great potentials to develop in the localities.

Thanh went on to say that some investors have come to learn about the opportunities to make investment in the airports in Vietnam. They said that they are looking forwards to the open policies to be laid down by the government of Vietnam.

The developer of Singaporean Changi airport came to Vietnam to learn about the airport in the ancient capital city of Hue. Most recently, Vietnam received a group of US investors who also came to learn about the opportunities in Vietnam.

However, Thanh admitted that the number of investors showing their interests in the airport projects in Vietnam remain modest. The situation may be improved if the CAAV’s proposal is approved.

Thanh denied the opinion that Vietnam plans to develop too many airports, including the ones in the localities with low demand. The airport density in Vietnam is at average level, if compared with other regional countries such as Malaysia or Thailand.

NCDT