Vietnam in the race to expand airports with Southeast Asian countries

Not only building new airports, many countries in the region are rushing to expand large airports to meet increasing passenger demand as well as attract foreign investment and international visitors to boost economic growth, although there are also warnings about over-investment.

According to a Nikkei study of airport expansion plans near the capitals of seven countries in the region, including Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Cambodia, the total annual passenger capacity will reach at least 653 million by 2030, nearly double the 336 million in early 2023.

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said at the opening ceremony of the satellite terminal at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport in September that the event came at "the best time to revive the domestic economy." He expressed hope that the expansion of Thailand's largest airport would help revive the tourism industry, which has been hit hard by the pandemic.

Thailand expands Suvarnabhumi International Airport

NIKKEI

The new satellite terminal can accommodate up to 28 aircraft and handle 15 million passengers a year. Once operational, the airport's overall capacity will increase by 30% to 60 million passengers a year, easing congestion at Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

The airport also plans to complete its third runway by 2024. It also aims to build a second satellite terminal and another runway by 2030, increasing its annual passenger capacity to 150 million.

The Thai government is also planning to expand two other airports, Don Mueang International Airport near Bangkok and U-Tapao Airport, southeast of the capital. The combined capacity of the three metropolitan airports will increase to 200 million passengers by 2030.

The rush to develop airports in Thailand and other countries in the region is driven by rising domestic demand amid their growing middle-income classes, according to the Japan Aerospace Development Corporation. Air passenger demand in Southeast Asia is expected to nearly triple in the two decades from 2019. The region's average annual growth rate is 4.6%, higher than the global figure of 3.4%, according to Nikkei Asia .

According to the plan, in addition to Noi Bai airport, there will be a second airport in the capital region.

NIA

Meanwhile, Vietnam will invest nearly VND100 trillion (US$4 billion) to increase the capacity of Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport to 60 million passengers by 2030, 2.5 times higher than at present.

Hanoi expands Noi Bai and wants to build a second airport. In a report submitted to the Hanoi People's Committee by the Hanoi People's Council last July, Noi Bai International Airport is identified as the most important gateway for international exchange between the North and Hanoi. It is forecasted that the airport will have a passenger volume of 60 million passengers/year by 2030 (area of ​​about 1,500 hectares); after 2030, it will reach 100 million passengers/year (area of ​​about 2,200 hectares, expanding to the south). The second airport in the Hanoi capital region is located in the south and southeast, a domestic airport that meets all the conditions to be converted to serve an international airport when necessary. The second airport will have a capacity of 30 - 50 million passengers/year, an area of ​​1,300 - 1,500 hectares, and will be implemented after 2030.

Cambodia will open a new international airport near Phnom Penh in 2025, with a total construction investment of 1.5 billion USD, initially capable of handling 13 million passengers, increasing capacity to 30 million by 2030.

Recently, on October 16, Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport (SAI) officially opened. SAI has 38 terminals and is capable of handling 7 million passengers per year, increasing to 12 million from 2040, with an investment of about 1.1 billion USD. In addition, Malaysia plans to handle 150 million passengers at its airports, double the current capacity, while Singapore aims to handle 140 million passengers, an increase of 75% compared to now. The completion date of the two countries' plans has not yet been decided. Larger airports are expected to improve travelers' access to the rest of the world, which will attract not only more passengers but also foreign investors. The huge investment required for the expansion will also have a significant economic impact.

New airport opens in Siem Reap

PV

Airport development requires huge spending and boosts domestic demand, which has a large economic spillover effect, and authorities tend to “proceed aggressively even when their plans are not good enough,” said Toru Nishihama, a Japanese economist. For example, the Philippines is planning four airport expansion projects around Manila, with consortiums and joint ventures expected to take on the development, but the role of each airport is unclear, which could lead to competition for customers. Thailand plans to build a high-speed rail line connecting three airports in the Bangkok metropolitan area, but construction has not started due to delays in land acquisition for the project. Questions have been raised about the accuracy of forecasts regarding passenger demand at each airport and high-speed rail, which could undermine investment efficiency.

Thanhnien.vn