New International Terminal at Tan Son Nhat Airport

August 31st, 2007

Tan Son Nhat Airport will soon officially open a new terminal to serve international airlines operating into and out of Ho Chi Minh City. Airport authorities began a one-week test in the new terminal on August 14 for check-in formalities by Mandarin Airlines, Tiger Airways, Shenzen Airlines, Royal Brunei Airlines and Uni Air. If the test run goes smoothly, all 35 international airlines flying into and out of the airport will use the new facility after September 02 2007. The older terminal will serve only domestic flights. 

With the additional terminal, the time required to check-in will be comparable to other international airports in Southeast Asia. The new terminal equipment meets international standards and includes 10 luggage conveyor belts, 8 sky bridges, 20 escalators, 18 elevators, 8 moving walkways, 10 sets of automatic doors, 43 X-ray machines, flight information boards and security equipment. 

The four-storey terminal also has specialized retail areas, and will offer services such as the Internet, online ticket sales, entertainment areas, and health and beauty care. The new terminal, which covers 100,000 square meters, will accommodate 8 to 10 million international passengers per annum. The second phase of the new terminal, to be completed by 2010, will increase capacity to 15 million passengers a year. 

Construction on the terminal began August 2004. The Japan Airport Consulting Company holds the design and construction contracts, which it sub-contracted out to a consortium of four Japanese companies: KTOM - Kajima Corporation, Taisei Corporation, Obayashi Corporation and Maeda Corporation - who constructed the terminal and installed the equipment. Tan Son Nhat Airport now accounts for nearly two-thirds of the international flight arrivals and departures in the country. 

Controlled by SAA, Tan Son Nhat Airport has undergone various expansion projects to keep up with demand. In 2002 the Civil Aviation Administration of Viet Nam put forward a construction plan for a new international terminal. The project was to be financed by a special Japan Government Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan of 3.4 trillion VND (260 million USD). SAA said by 2015 a new international airport, which will be built in Long Thanh district, Dong Nai province, some 40 kms. from downtown of Ho Chi Minh City, will supersede Tan Son Nhat, which would then only handle domestic flights.

Source: VNA   

Tags: tan son nhat airport, ho chi minh city airport, ho chi minh city hotels, vietnam hotels, hotels in vietnam

Entry Filed under: Vietnam Destination