HA NOI The Ministry of Transport s Viet Nam Civil Aviation Department yesterday granted a licence to the Petrolimex Jet Fuel Joint Stock Company (PJF) to supply jet fuel to planes at Tan Son Nhat Airport.
The ministry had directed the Southern Airport Corporation to invest in or seek partners for the development of a jet fuel supply infrastructure, announced Lai Xuan Thanh, deputy head of the department.
The event means the end of the jet fuel supply monopoly for flights at domestic airports for Viet Nam Air Petrol Company (Vinapco), who previously held a stranglehold over jet fuel provision for international and domestic flights.
In early August, Tan Son Nhat Trade and Petroleum Joint Stock Company (Tapetco) also submitted a tender to the ministry for the air fuel supply licence.
According to Vinapco, it and other providers would share the annual demand for 90,000 tonnes of jet fuel to Tan Son Nhat Airport.
Vinapco supplies 500,000 tonnes of jet fuel a year for flights at 12 Vietnamese airports, a service that involves supplying fuel to 70 per cent of Viet Nam Airlines flights, 10 per cent of other domestic flights and 20 per cent of all international flights.
Vinapco director Tran Huu Phuc said trading in jet fuel in Viet Nam carried high risks because of the distant locations of many Vietnamese airports from seaport supply depots, poor road infrastructure and transport safety concerns. VNS