The Ministry of Transport (MoT) has proposed the Government to upgrade and expand Con Dao airport in southern Ba Ria – Vung Tau province to be able to welcome modern and large aircraft.

The expansion needs an estimated investment capital of VND1.68 trillion ($66.4 million).

The project will expand the existing runway, build a new parallel taxiway and connect taxiways and improve night lighting.

The expansion will enable the airport to handle such aircraft as A320, A321 and B737.

Currently, the runway and taxiway at the Con Dao airport, which were built in 2004, are in a poor condition and are able to serve smaller planes such as the ATR72 and equivalent.

Con Dao is an archipelago, consisting of 16 islands and belonging to southern Ba Ria – Vung Tau province. It is about a one-hour fly from Ho Chi Minh City.

According to the ministry,  it is necessary to research and invest into building a new civil aviation area in the Con Dao airport from now up to 2030, including a passenger terminal and parking with a capacity of around 2 million passengers per year, with estimated investment cost of about VND2.1 trillion ($83 million) under the public-private partnership (PPP) form.