U.S. supports Vietnam airport expansion

  The U.S. Trade and Development Agency signed a grant agreement with the Middle Airports Corp. (MAC) to help expand Chu Lai International Airport, Vietnam’s largest airfield.
   The grant will fund a feasibility study of the Chu Lai Airport becoming a regional cargo hub, thus helping to increase the operations of U.S. cargo carriers in Southeast Asia.
   The $538,886 feasibility study will determine market potential, identify infrastructure needs, and recommend a public-private investment and financing arrangement for the airport expansion plans. USTDA previously partnered with MAC to fund the Da Nang Airport Passenger Terminal expansion study, which generated more than $4 million in exports for U.S. companies. The new terminal at Da Nang Airport will open in January 2012.
   Vietnam is expected to become one of the fastest growing aviation markets for international and domestic passenger and freight traffic in the region. To accommodate this growth, the Vietnamese government has identified at least seven airports throughout the country to be constructed or expanded under public-private partnership arrangements. As a state-owned corporation under the Ministry of Transportation and Civil Aviation Authority, MAC is responsible for the development of Chu Lai Airport located in the central part of the country near significant industrial business operations.
   The opportunity to conduct the USTDA-funded feasibility study will be competed on the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website. A link to the FBO announcements will be posted to USTDA’s Web site. MAC will select the U.S. contractor that will complete the feasibility study.