HCMC - The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) has projected that approximately 600,000 tons of cargo will have been cleared at the country’s all airports by the end of this year compared to 460,000 tons last year.
Airports expected to handle 600,000 tons of cargo this year
By Mong Binh - The Saigon Times Daily
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| Cargo is being unloaded from a Vietnam Airlines plane at Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi. CAAV expects the country’s airports to handle some 600,000 tons of cargo this year - Photo: Binh Nguyen |
HCMC - The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) has projected that approximately 600,000 tons of cargo will have been cleared at the country’s all airports by the end of this year compared to 460,000 tons last year.
Vo Huy Cuong, director of CAAV’s Air Transport Department, told the Daily on the phone on Tuesday that 600,000 tons was the preliminary calculation for the combined cargo volume at all airports this year and the actual figure would likely change when the figure for December was available.
The 600,000 tons of cargo transported by nearly 50 local and foreign airlines is lower than 690,000 tons of cargo that CAAV aimed for this year. This lower-than-expected volume is attributable to economic difficulties in Vietnam and global uncertainties that have impacted on the civil aviation industry.
However, Cuong said it was notable that the value of goods transported by air had increased this year as foreign-invested companies including electronics companies were exporting more high-tech items and components and also importing parts for assembly in the country.
Cargo shipments by airlines have posted steady double-digit growth in recent years and CAAV said this market segment still had much room for expansion.
Last week, Vietnam News Agency quoted a Korea Development Institute report as forecasting that the goods volume carried by airlines to and from Vietnam would rise from 460,000 tons last year to 850,000-930,000 tons by 2015, with annual average growth of 13-16%.
According to the report released at a recent seminar in Hanoi, Vietnam’s overall aviation market will reach some 36 million passengers by 2015. To meet the demand for passenger and good transport by that year, the Korean institute suggested the Government invest more into the country’s major airports in HCMC, Hanoi and Danang to connect local and international air routes and to support regional and national economic development.
CAAV said more than 21 million passengers went through the country’s airports last year, up around 20% from a year earlier. This aviation authority estimated the number this year would stand at 23.6 million, with equal shares for domestic and international flights.
The increase in the number of passengers at the country’s airports reflected a strong rise in the number of international visitors to Vietnam this year. The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism forecast the figure would surpass six million, up by around 1.2 million over 2010.