The Phu Quoc International Airport in the southernmost province of Kien Giang will be put into operation tomorrow, December 2, according to local authorities. Yesterday the Government Office issued a document stating that Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has agreed to the Transport Minsitry’s proposal to open the new airport in Duong To commune, Phu Quoc Island District and shout down the current Phu Quoc Airport in Duong Dong Town. The same day a group of experts led by Transport Deputy Minister Pham Quy Tieu inspected the works on the new airport and agreed that the facility would be put into operation on December 2, a day later than scheduled. Huynh Quang Hung, deputy chairman of the district People’s Committee, told the group that all works and installations that serve flight operations and passenger terminals have been completed. An inaugural ceremony for the airport, which has been built since 2008 with a total investment of VND16.2 trillion (US$771 million), will be held on December 15, Hung said. The 900-ha airport has a runway of 3,000 meter long and 45 meter wide, capable of receiving Boeing 777, Boeing 747- 400, and similar aircraft. According to the provincial People’s Committee, the airport will play a vital role in the Phu Quoc island’s social and economic development as well as in the overall development of Kien Giang and the Mekong River Delta.