PM gives go ahead for new airport in Central Highlands

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has agreed to add Mang Den airport to the national airport construction agenda, as proposed earlier by the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has agreed to add Mang Den airport to the national airport construction agenda, as proposed earlier by the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum.

The decision was announced during the PM’s visit to Kon Tum on Sunday.

The province last September asked the Ministry of Transport to have Mang Den airport included in the national aviation development scheme until 2030 and beyond.

As proposed, the international airport will cost VND4 trillion ($169.5 million) and be built under the public–private partnership mode.

The airport is designed at level 4E, which means it can serve wide-body aircraft such as Boeing 787 and Airbus A350.

Spanning 350 hectares in Mang Den Town of Kon Plong District, the airport will be able to serve 3 to 5 million passengers each year.

Work on the project is expected to be started this year for completion by 2027.

At an altitude of 1,200 meters, Mang Den Town has been dubbed the "second Da Lat" for its vast valleys and pine forests.

The Central Highlands region currently has three airports, and all are domestic ones.

They are Lien Khuong airport in Lam Dong Province, Buon Ma Thuot airport in Dak Lak Province, and Pleiku airport in Gia Lai Province.