The People’s Committee of Son La Province in northern Vietnam has sought the Ministry of Transport’s approval for the construction of Moc Chau Airport, just one month after another proposal to build an airdrome some 90km away.

The document, submitted to the transport ministry on Saturday, suggested that Moc Chau Airport be added to the development plan of a nationwide airport system in the 2021-30 period, with a vision toward 2050.

The provincial People’s Committee stated that the construction of Moc Chau Airport is necessary as Son La is located about 320km from Hanoi and has a particularly important strategic position in terms of national security, defense, and tourism which is projected to spearhead the local economy by 2030.

The airport will be built on an area of about 350 hectares in Moc Chau District and subject to an expansion to 500 hectares by 2050, with a runway stretching 1,800 meters or longer, according to the document.

In its first phase, the airport can handle one million passengers per year on both regular domestic flights and some international flights.

The capacity will double in its second phase after 2030.

The total investment is expected to reach VND6.5 trillion (US$276 million) under the public-private partnership (PPP) method.

While the Son La leaders did not mention a specific location for the construction of the new airport, a search result on Google Maps shows that it is only 91km of driving from the center of Moc Chau District to the location of Na San Airport in the province’s Mai Son District -- another freshly-proposed airdome project.

In August, the People’s Committee of Son La submitted another plan to the prime minister to seek approval for the construction of Na San Airport under the PPP model.

The provincial government also highlighted in its proposal the intention to become the operator of the project. 

The airdrome is expected to have the capacity of one million passengers by 2030.

During the first phase, Na San Airport is projected to handle up to one million passengers and 350 metric tons of cargo a year, with the cost of the construction estimated at VND2.56 trillion ($109 million).

In the second phase, an expansion scheme costing VND468 billion ($20 million) will be carried out, and the airport capacity will increase to two million passengers a year.

The construction of Na Sa Airport is expected to run from the third quarter of 2023 to the fourth quarter of 2025.

Son La covers a total area of 14,174 square kilometers and accommodates about 1.25 million people, according to the 2019 national population and housing census.

It welcomed approximately 2.5 million visitors in 2019, according to a local report.

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