Spanish, US firms to invest in Chu Lai Airport

Hanoi (VNA) - Representatives from Spain 's Garuda Group, the US Airis
International Holdings LLC and the People's Committee of central Quang Nam
province signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to implement a feasibility study
for Chu Lai International Airport , in Hanoi on April 16.

Nguyen Phuoc Thanh, the province's deputy chairman, said that under the master
plan ratified by the Government, the total investment capital of Chu Lai
Airport was estimated at 1 billion USD. Chu Lai will be larger than Da Nang
Airport .

The airport has a designed annual capacity of 2.25 million passengers and 1.5
million cargo by 2015 and 4.1 million passengers and 5 million cargo by 2025,
according to the master plan.

According to the MoU, Garuda and Airis will jointly design, finance, construct and
operate the airport in the form of BOT (build-operate-transfer). The feasibility
study for the project will include an in-depth outline of future planning and
building stages.

"At first, Garuda will send about 15 technicians to Vietnam to carry out the
Chu Lai airport project. It is expected to take about six months to undertake the
feasibility study for Chu Lai Airport ," said Giuliano Miotti Koenigsberg,
general manager of Garuda Trade Co. Vietnam.

Nguyen Trong Nguyen, director of Airis Vietnam, said the two sides chose Chu Lai
because it was an important gate to the centre of the country and was near Dung
Quat and Chu Lai economic zones, Hoi An - a famous tourist spot - and Chu Lai
seaport.
Garuda Asea Co. - a Spanish seaport and airport construction and management
company - set up an office in Hanoi last month. Garuda Vietnam pumped
8 billion USD into the International Hanoi-Hai Duong Airport .
Airis - the world's largest private developer of airport facilities -
established representative offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in
January.-Enditem