A third terminal, T3, which can handle 20 million passengers a year, will raise the total capacity of Tan Son Nhat Airport to 50 million, under a detailed plan unveiled by the Ministry of Transport on October 1.

Tan Son Nhat Airport has been struggling with passenger overload in recent years. (Photo: Zing)

The plan comes as the only airport serving Vietnam’s southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City has been struggling with passenger overload in recent years.

The T3 terminal will be built to the south of the airport on a plot of land transferred by the Ministry of Defence and its construction will be given top priority.

Under the plan, the two current terminals, T1 and T2, will also be upgraded to have a combined capacity of 30 million passengers.

An additional 56 parking lots for airplanes and taxiways are also part of the adjustment plan, which raises the total area of Tan Son Nhat Airport from 545 hectares to 791 hectares, including 171 hectares to the north reserved for drainage facilities.

The roads surrounding Tan Son Nhat will also be expanded to facilitate airport access.

According to Deputy Transport Minister Le Dinh Tho, Tan Son Nhat Airport’s detailed expansion plan has been developed carefully in order to avoid further adjustments after only a few years.

He expects the upgrade to be completed by 2022 so that the airport can handle 50 million passengers a year.

The deputy minister added that concerning Long Thanh Airport in Ho Chi Minh City’s neighbouring province of Dong Nai, the first phase of investment is expected to be approved by the National Assembly in October 2019.

Long Thanh Airport is scheduled to come into operation in 2025, helping to ease the pressure on Tan Son Nhat./.

VNF/NDO