Dien Bien Airport in northern Dien Bien province will be temporarily closed from April 1 to December 14 for expansions and upgrades, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam.

The project was approved by the Prime Minister in 2021 with the aim of increasing capacity to 500,000 passengers a year. Construction is estimated to cost over VND1.46 trillion ($61 million).

The airport will be upgraded to welcome large aircraft such as Airbus A320s and A321s and others.

Originally a military airport built in 1954, Dien Bien Airport has one 1,830-meter runway that can handle short-haul ATR72 and smaller aircraft. Its current capacity is 300,000 passengers a year.