Saigon Times media quoted the airport director, Dang Tuan Tu, saying the airport was designed to serve 25 million passengers a year by 2020, but it already handled 26.5 million passenger movements last year.

It is expected that HCMC’s gateway airport, Tan Son Nhat, will handle as many as 30 million passengers this year and more than 40 million passengers by 2020.

The upsurge in passenger traffic has led to congestion  at the airport and strains air traffic control.

In the long-term it will be replaced by the Long Thanh airport project in neighboring Dong Nai province, but it will not be ready until 2025. It will have a capacity of 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of freight per year. At the present growth rate, passenger movements will exceed the airport’s capacity ceiling as soon as it opens.

When subsequent phases (two and three) are completed it will be able to handle up to 100 million passengers and 5 million tonnes of freight per year, but until then it is likely that both airports will operate side-by-side.

In late February, the ministry negotiated with the Ministry of Defense over the handover of 30 hectares of military-controlled land at Tan Son Nhat that will be used for new taxiways and an aircraft parking areas.

The Ministry of Transport also suggested the Ministry of Defense hand over an additional 10 hectares of land from Vietnamese Star Company to build a new terminal with an annual capacity of 10 million passengers for both civil and military flights.

This year, Ho Chi Minh City tourism officials estimate the city will attract 5.1 million international tourists and 21.8 million domestic tourists generating USD4.8 billion in revenue.

Last year, the city welcomed 4.6 million foreign visitors and 19.3 million domestic tourists, up 4.6% and 13% year-on-year, respectively. Tourism earnings reached over USD 4.1 billion, a 10% increase year-on-year.

Source:ttrweekly