Investment proposal worth nearly 20 trillion dong to expand Buôn Ma Thuột Airport

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Construction for approval of the Buôn Ma Thuột Airport master plan for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050. The plan targets upgrading the airport in Đắk Lắk Province into an important transportation hub serving both civil and military aviation, while meeting socio-economic development requirements.

Scope and standards for 2021-2030

Under the proposal, Buôn Ma Thuột Airport is located in Tan Lập ward and operates as a domestic airport shared for civil and military use. In the 2021-2030 phase, the airport is planned to reach ICAO 4C standard.

The projected operating scale for 2021-2030 includes:

• Passenger capacity: about 3-5 million passengers per year
• Cargo capacity: about 10,000 tons per year

This capacity is intended to support aircraft types such as Airbus A320, A321, and similar or smaller variants.

Planned investment components

The master plan outlines specific upgrades to runway, aircraft parking, terminals, and cargo facilities.

Runway and aircraft stands

• Upgrade the existing runway to 3,000 m x 45 m
• Expand the aircraft parking area to accommodate at least 19 Code C aircraft stands and equivalents

Passenger terminals

• Continue operating Terminal 1 and upgrade when needed to reach a capacity of about 2 million passengers per year
• Develop Terminal 2 with a planned capacity of about 3 million passengers per year, invested in phases in line with demand growth

Cargo infrastructure

• Build a cargo terminal area connected with the aircraft apron on the east side of the passenger terminal
• Area: approximately 13,100 m2
• Cargo capacity: 10,000 tons per year

Vision to 2050: expansion targets

Looking ahead to 2050, the proposal sets out further upgrades and expansion for both passenger and cargo operations.

• Aircraft stands: about 27
• Passenger capacity: about 7 million passengers per year
• Cargo capacity: 15,000 tons per year

Runway 2 and taxiway system

The master plan includes adding Runway 2 with a length of 2,400 m and a width of 45 m, offset 275 m north of Runway 1. A system of four taxiways would be invested to connect, with construction planned in tandem with Runway 2 when needed.

Terminal and cargo upgrades in the later phase

• Terminal 2 planned to be upgraded to a capacity of 5 million passengers per year
• Cargo terminal area to continue being invested to raise capacity to 15,000 tons per year

Land use and estimated investment

For the full 2021-2050 period, the total land area planned is over 518 hectares. The estimated investment is about 19,973 billion dong.

CAAV review and recommendations

CAAV said the master plan dossier has been reviewed and refined based on input from the Council of Appraisal and directions from the Ministry of Construction. On that basis, CAAV recommends that the Ministry of Construction approve the master plan.

CAAV also requested the Đắk Lắk provincial People’s Committee to update the plan in local land-use plans and transportation connectivity to and from the airport.