A new terminal will be built to the southeast of the current terminal to serve the increased passenger load, while land to the northwest of the current terminal will be reserved for another terminal at a later period.
Land will also be reserved to expand the current runway from 2,400 metres to 3,000 metres if demand increases after 2030, while a new taxiway parallel to the runway will also be built by 2030.
The airport will have four parking lots for A320/A321 aircraft by 2020 and 12 lots by 2030.
According to Quang Binh Chairman Nguyen Huu Hoai, upgrading Dong Hoi is an urgent need as its current capacity is 500,000 passengers a year and the passenger throughput has already reached 470,000.
He added that the number of passengers is expected to grow strongly when large tourism projects are completed in the province.
Following the approval, Transport Minister Nguyen Van The has assigned the Airports Corporation of Vietnam to promptly finalise the expansion design over the next six months so that construction can start by the end of 2018.
