A view of Lai Airport in da nang, Central Vietnam. Photo by VNexpress/dac Thanh
Da Nang is pushing a plan to turn Chu Lai Airport into a massive aviation and economic hub: a US$10 billion complex combining a next-generation airport with a free-trade zone, industrial park and eco-urban township.
In a proposal sent to the central government last week, city leaders asked for permission to develop Chu Lai Airport under a public–private partnership. The plan includes $3.3 billion to build a new international-standard airport and another $6.7 billion to develop a surrounding “airport ecosystem” featuring a 225-hectare free-trade zone, a 185-hectare eco-service urban area, and a 360-hectare industrial zone.
Vietnam’s national airport master plan envisions Chu Lai handling 10 million passengers and 1.5 million tonnes of cargo a year by 2030, and up to 30 million passengers by 2050, meeting the ICAO 4F standard for large international hubs.
Da Nang is racing to meet the Prime Minister’s directive to complete investment procedures in the first half of 2025 and finish construction within two years. A task force has already been set up to prepare PPP procedures and plan the airport’s northwest area, while the city has requested to be named the project’s authorized state agency.
A second option is also on the table: allowing Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) to invest in and operate both the airport and its ecosystem. ACV says it will commit capital once the detailed plan is approved, though specifics have not yet been released.
Chu Lai Airport sits in the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone in central Vietnam, between Da Nang and Quang Ngai. Once a major U.S. air base, it is now Vietnam’s largest airport by land area, covering more than 2,006 hectares, but currently serves just 1.2 million passengers a year.
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