The People’s Council of south-central Binh Dinh province has approved a proposal to earmark VND1.746 trillion ($66.8 million) from the provincial budget to upgrade Phu Cat airport.

This is part of the total investment capital for the project which was estimated at nearly VND3.3 trillion ( over $128 million). The remaining capital will be sourced from the national budget.

Phu Cat Airport, built during the war, in the 1960s and early 1970s, has resumed operation since 1985. Due to its age and limited runway capacity, the airport can only accommodate small aircraft.

The upgrade project includes construction of a second runway primarily for civilian aviation, and additional aircraft apron, and expansion of passenger terminal.

The project’s feasibility study has been submitted to the Ministry of Construction for appraisal.

Construction is expected to start in August this year.

According to a plan approved by the Ministry of Construction, the Phu Cat airport is expected to be able to handle 5 million passengers by 2030 and 7 million passengers by 2050.