Given the current overcrowding and poor infrastructure at Phu Quoc Airport, aviation experts recommend promoting private investment in transport infrastructure to reduce the burden on the state budget.
Overburdened infrastructure, poor service
Phu Quoc has become a distinctive island city with strong appeal to both domestic and international tourists. However, recently, Phu Quoc International Airport has been operating at full capacity, with its overcrowded terminal unable to accommodate additional counters or gates, resulting in lengthy waiting times for tourists.
According to Nguyen Minh Dong, Director of Phu Quoc Airport, the airport's designed capacity is 4 million passengers per year, including 3 million domestic and 1 million international passengers. In 2024, the airport handled over 4.1 million passengers, including nearly 2 million international travellers, exceeding its design capacity.
During the recent Lunar New Year holiday, Phu Quoc Airport experienced congestion due to the large number of passengers going through immigration procedures, prompting complaints from tourists. During the holiday period, the airport received a record number of international flights, as many tourists from northeast Asia, such as the Republic of Korea and Taiwan (China), chose it as their holiday destination.
Each day, the airport accommodates an average of 130-140 aircraft landings with 20-22 thousand passengers, including 10 to 12 thousand international travellers. On peak days, it receives 38-39 international flights, with other days consistently handling 30-34 flights daily.
According to the immigration police at Phu Quoc Airport, each departure and arrival gate at the airport has seven manual control counters and two automated control counters operating 24 hours a day.
As the terminal is already operating beyond its design capacity, if passenger numbers continue to increase in the coming period, localised congestion within the existing terminal will be unavoidable, causing inconvenience to tourists. The overloaded aviation infrastructure and poor service at this gateway will become a bottleneck affecting the development of the entire city.
Attracting private investment resources
This year, Phu Quoc aims to welcome more than 10 million visitors, including 1.1 million foreign visitors. It is predicted that the number of international tourists to Phu Quoc will continue to increase significantly due to the special visa exemption policy for foreigners, with temporary stays of up to 30 days.
Additionally, Phu Quoc has been selected as the venue for the APEC Summit in 2027. This means Phu Quoc has only about two years to prepare for this major event, with an airport that can only accommodate 6-8 aircraft simultaneously, while potentially needing to receive 30 to 50 special flights at once. The city leadership has petitioned the central government to soon expand the airport and build a second runway.
Previously, in preparation for the 2017 APEC Summit in Da Nang, Vietnam built an international passenger terminal at Da Nang Airport with 40 check-in counters, 20 departure counters, 22 arrival counters, 10 boarding gates, and a capacity of 6 million passengers per year, accommodating 1,600 passengers during peak hours.
According to aviation experts, in this context, attracting private investment for airport infrastructure is extremely important. The government has already established a policy to focus on major airports, leaving the remainder to local authorities to seek private investment, thereby avoiding spreading public capital too thinly while creating conditions for private enterprises to develop.
Director Nguyen Minh Dong stated that the development plan for Phu Quoc International Airport for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, has been proposed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) to the Ministry of Transport for appraisal and approval.
According to the plan, the airport's capacity will reach 10 million passengers and 25,000 tonnes of cargo annually by 2030. It will increase to 18 million passengers and 50,000 tonnes of cargo per year by 2050. To increase capacity to 10 million passengers per year, the airport needs to expand its runway and apron, and build a second passenger terminal.
The proposal to upgrade and expand Phu Quoc Airport has been discussed since 2022-2023, but has yet to commence.
According to the CAAV, the government has already approved the investment to expand Phu Quoc Airport in preparation for the APEC Summit. The investment plan will be calculated for optimal efficiency, mobilising all resources to upgrade the airport infrastructure as quickly as possible. Investment efficiency remains the most significant factor. If the project is assessed as effective and financially feasible, it will certainly attract potential investors. The state regulatory authority is always ready to cooperate, guide investment procedures, and create the most favourable conditions for project implementation.
The upgrading and expanding of Phu Quoc International Airport at present is an urgent task that cannot be delayed. Private investment is the optimal and flexible form that will help save state resources and contribute to transforming Phu Quoc into a destination for world-class events.
