Chu Lai airport in central Quang Nam province is the target of heavy investment to upgrade it to an international level by the year 2025, said provincial authorities Wednesday.

The airport, once used by the US army during the American War (Vietnam War), is some 100 kilometers away from the central Vietnam hub Da Nang City.

It had been deserted for almost 27 years before the first passenger airplane landed there in March 2005.

According to the Aviation Design Construction Company under the Vietnam Air Force, the airport upgrades will be carried out in two phases, aiming to make Chu Lai one of Vietnam’s six largest international airports.

From 2006 to 2010, Quang Nam province will upgrade runways, hangars, and air traffic control and installing a modern lighting system to enable Boeing 767 and Airbus 302 landings.

In the second phase, a comprehensive upgrade of infrastructure will ensure it could transport at least four million passengers and five million tons of cargo a year.


Source : Thanh Nien