Southeast Asia airport report

Cambodia airports progress, Manila’s three-airport problem, Changi T5 resumes, Bangkok’s two airports +1, Vietnam’s airport boom continues, though HCMC’s two airport woes continue.

This is the Future Southeast Asia airport report for 2023 – a summary of airports planned, under construction, and other airport news in Southeast Asia over the past year. This report is for Future Southeast Asia paid subscribers.

🇰🇭 Cambodia

Techo–Ta Khmau International Airport

The terminal at the new Phnom Penh airport (Techo–Ta Khmau International Airport) was 40% complete in October 2022. This is up from about 27% complete as of December 2021. There is a video here showing how the terminal structure is taking shape, and more photos here.

The airport is due to start operation in January 2025, just two years away. What has not been reported on is the transport infrastructure to the airport. The new airport is 30-40 km from the city centre, while the old airport is 9.3 km from Phnom Penh Railway Station in Central Phnom Penh.

There have been proposals for a metro system in Phnom Penh, but that would be years away from being realised. None of the recent reports mentions an airport train, which should be a priority if they want to make the new airport a success.

Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport

The Siem Reap New International Airport construction timeline is still unclear. In March 2022, it was clarified that the airport was only 22% complete (after being announced it was 27% complete). In April 2022, it was estimated that the airport would open in March 2023. A report in October said that it was 44% done and that it is set to open in Oct 2023. This is much slower than the 2021 estimate, where it was expected to be 70% completed by 2022.

This article highlighted the hurdles that the airport construction has faced. Something that is not talked about is that the airport is 50km from Siem Reap.

Dara Sakor International Airport

Dara Sakor International Airport in Koh Kong Province (location) was expected to be operational by mid 2022. By November 2022, it was announced that the airport opening would be delayed for unspecified reasons.

Mondulkiri Airport

The Mondulkiri Airport project stalled after Chinese investor ‘runs out of funds’.

Battambang Airport

Battambang has an airport that is currently out of commission. In 2022, it was announced that the airport would be upgraded into 4C category. This category can accommodate 737/A320 aircraft (the preferred aircraft of low-cost airlines).

Battambang is one of my favourite underrated provincial cities of Southeast Asia. It would be more popular if the train from Phnom Penh were faster and more reliable, or if the train from Thailand connected to Cambodia. Perhaps AirAsia has Battambang on its shortlist of cities to serve if it sets up AirAsia Cambodia.

🇮🇩 Indonesia

Kuala Namu International Airport

Kuala Namu International Airport is the airport for Medan in North Sumatra. Government officials still have ambitions to turn the airport into a regional hub. This follows on from the 2021 announcement of turning the airport into a hub that would rival Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

Kediri International Airport

Kediri International Airport is an airport currently under construction in East Java. The airport is about 120 kilometres southwest of Surabaya city, and it is the first airport in Indonesia to be built with 100% private financing.

Komodo Airport

Komodo Airport is the airport of Labuan Bajo on the island of Flores in East Nusa Tenggara province. It’s named after Komodo National Park (home of the Komodo dragon), which has been in the news for the government’s ill-conceived plan to charge $1000 USD to enter the park. Only “extraordinary people” need apply, or so the reasoning went until the plan was put on hold.

Labuan Bajo is one of the destinations that has been selected in the 10 New Balis program. The airport is now being expanded to accommodate larger aircraft in order to serve international flights.

North Bali International Airport

After years of talk of building a second airport for Bali, the project was shelved in 2022.

Nusantara Airport

Planning continues for the new capital of Indonesia, and with the new city will be a new airport. As per usual, an optimistic completion date has been given, with a completion date of 2024 being the last date that was quoted.

🇱🇦 Laos

Bokeo International Airport

Bokeo International Airport in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ) of Bokeo Province was expected to open in March 2022. The completion date is now expected in 2023.

Luang Prabang International Airport

The Korean Airports Corporation (KAC) published a feasibility study in 2022 on the expansion of Luang Prabang International Airport. The report suggested “renovation and expansion plans that would allow the airport to accommodate over 4.61 million passengers from the current capacity of 1.2 million passengers.”

Nong Khang Airport

Nong Khang Airport in Houaphan Province, Eastern Laos, was expected to operate in Sept according to the Lao News Agency. There haven’t been any updates since then, though you can see photos of the terminal building on Google Maps.

🇲🇾 Malaysia

Penang International Airport

The Penang International Airport expansion was put on hold due to the pandemic. It was pointed out last year that the airport expansion should have been done during lockdown.

With the Malaysian general election in November 2022, the expansion project became a political football, with parties blaming each other for the delay. It appears that the project will go ahead, and it will include anti-flash flood measures.

New Kuantan International Airport

The Kuantan International Airport in Gebeng (Pahang State) is scheduled to begin construction in 2023 and begin operations in 2026.

The new airport is part of an aerospace city mixed development project, and it could be connected to Kuantan by a sky train.

Sultan Ismail Petra Airport

The current domestic airport for Kota Bharu in Kelantan aspires to be a hub for Japan and China air traffic.

New Tioman Island Airport

A report on the new Tioman Island Airport was started in March 2022 and is expected to be completed later in 2023. There are concerns about the effect of construction on the Tioman marine park.

Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA)

Qhazanah Sabah inks deal with Berjaya Land for study on KK airport move to Kimanis – [30/06/22]“The Sabah Government’s strategic investment arm, Qhazanah Sabah Bhd (QSB) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with renowned property developer, Berjaya Land Berhad (B-Land) to explore the possible relocation of Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) to Kimanis.”

Kulim International Airport (KXP)

Kulim International Airport is a proposed new airport in Kedah State. The airport would be closer to Penang than Alor Setar (the capital of Kedah), both of which already have airports.

In January 2022, it was declared that there were “no more obstacles” in the path to developing this airport.

By July, the developer had dropped out of the project after failing to pay a deposit to the government for land acquisition.

🇵🇭 Philippines

Manila’s three-airport problem

Manila has a new airport under construction, a second airport that is planned for expansion, and the problem of what to do with the current airport.

The New Manila International Airport (Bulacan International Airport) is a new airport under construction, 35 kilometres north of the city centre.

Another new airport for Manila was approved in September with the Sangley Point International Airport project. Work is expected to commence in Q3 of 2023.

With two new airports that will serve Manila, questions are now being asked if NAIA should be renovated as planned or closed down completely. The government doesn’t have a coherent plan for the airports of Metro Manila. Bulacan was an unsolicited proposal from a private company, and now a second proposal was put forward to expand Sangley Point.

Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL) is famous for being a terrible airport, but the government has been planning to renovate it. There are also plans to extend mass transit lines to the airport. Now, with two new airports planned, the question is being asked if NAIA should close. This is also a politically charged question because the airport is named after Ninoy Aquino, who was a fierce opponent of the Marcos regime (the father of the current president).

[Memorial plaque at NAIA referring to “a dictator and his cronies”.]

For Marcos Jnr, it would be easier to erase the name of Ninoy Aquino by closing the airport completely than to change the name. As for the other two airports, which are in neighbouring provinces, there is a metro extension planned for Bulacan, but no rail connection planned for Sangley.

Laoag Airport expansion

The Laoag International Airport is set to expand by acquiring its adjacent lots.

More new airports

The DOTr is looking at building new airports in Zamboanga, Dumaguete, Masbate, and Bukidnon, among other provinces and towns.

🇸🇬 Singapore

Changi Airport

After putting the Terminal 5 project on hold for two years due to the pandemic, the project was relaunched during the National Day Rally. The project will double the capacity of what is already an enormous airport.

Seletar Airport

Singapore’s second airport looks to become a flying taxi hub.

🇹🇭 Thailand

Suvarnabhumi Airport expansion

The planned Suvarnabhumi Airport expansion was expected to go ahead by mid 2022, but the plan went back for revision. The new plan was expected to be completed by December 2022. The revised plan calls for the east expansion of the main terminal to accommodate up to 15 million passengers a year, bringing the total capacity to 65 million passengers per year.

Don Mueang Airport

Improvements to Don Mueang airport will go ahead after a budget of 36 billion baht was approved by the cabinet for the phase-3 development.

U-Tapao Airport

The Cabinet has agreed in principle to expand U-Tapao Airport as of November 2022. The plan is to build a second runway and to turn the airport into an airport-centred economic zone.

U-Tapao Airport will be connected to Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang by the 3-airport high-speed railway.

Betong Airport

Betong Airport in the deep south province of Yala welcomed its first commercial flight in March 2022. Flights were cancelled shortly thereafter due to lack of interest. There are currently no scheduled flights at Betong Airport.

Krabi Airport

The new Krabi Airport terminal was scheduled to open in November.

Phang Nga airport

AOT shelves Phang Nga airport viability study for now“The preliminary feasibility study for Phang Nga Airport will be put on hold until the management of three provincial airports is handed over to the Airports of Thailand (AOT).”

More airport news

B4.5bn spent to upgrade local airports“The DoA’s airport 2024–2027 development plan includes 3.6 billion baht that covers construction projects at Ranong, Chumphon, and Nakhon Si Thammarat airports, he said, adding 1.6 billion will be spent on a new terminal at Ranong airport so it can handle 1,000 passengers per hour.

The other 2 billion baht will go to Chumphon and Nakhon Si Thammarat airports, where upgrade projects will take place to maximise capacity in aeroplane parking, boarding and passenger disembarking”.

🇻🇳 Vietnam

Vietnam’s economy is booming to the point that its infrastructure is not keeping up with growth (this article is a good overview). The Vietnam domestic aviation market ranked No.1 on the list of the 25 countries with the fastest post-pandemic recovery. Vietnam has now picked up where it left off in 2019 by planning for new and larger airports. Meanwhile, not a single kilometre of national railway has been laid, and we are still waiting for news of the express railway that would make some domestic flights redundant.

Long Thanh International Airport

The saga continues with the second airport of Ho Chi Minh City. Long Thanh International Airport has been plagued by delays for years, which you can see the time line of on the fact sheet.

2022 was looking like the year when things might finally start turning around, even if land clearance had still not been completed by October. Then, at the end of the year, it was announced that the bid package for the “Construction and equipment installation for the passenger terminal” was cancelled. Long Thanh International Airport rolled into 2023 without a builder for the new airport.

Long Thanh International Airport is about 40 km east of the city centre, so it will need rail transport to connect it to the city. Plans for a light rail have been vaguely referred to during the year, but there are no solid details yet. A pre-feasibility study of the Thu Thiem-Long Thanh light rail will be completed this year.

It was optimistically predicted that the airport would be ready by September 2025. Considering that Ho Chi Minh City still hasn’t finished its first metro line after 10 years of construction, they would need to start building the light rail now for it to be ready for the airport opening.

Tan Son Nhat Airport Terminal 3

As if the drama at Long Thanh wasn’t enough, HCMC is also having problems expanding Tan Son Nhat Airport. Looking through my archives, I saw a news article from 2021 that could have been copied word-for-word a year later. This article (Work to begin on third Tan Son Nhat airport terminal) is from October 2021, and it said that work will begin in December.

Fast forward to a year later, and here is a news article from December 2022: Work on Tan Son Nhat airport’s new terminal set to begin in December.

To be fair, the problems that the airport and city planners face are problems that are out of their control. The airport expansion requires surrounding land that is owned by the military. As you could imagine, the military is a powerful entity in Vietnam, to the point that the Prime Minister doesn’t have the power to have military land released for development.

It looks like construction finally did commence at the end of December. There was a news report of a ground-breaking ceremony, but as the kids say on social media, “photos or it didn’t happen”. There have been plenty of other ground-breaking ceremonies where nothing happened afterwards, so I will have a look next time I’m at the airport.

Noi Bai International Airport

Expansion of Noi Bai International Airport to kick off in 2025 – [28/09/22]“Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi aims to serve about 100 million passengers and five million tonnes of freight per year by 2050.”

Hanoi Second Airport

The Hanoi authorities have proposed to the Ministry of Transport the planning of its second international airport in Thuong Tin, a suburban district located in the south of the capital city.

Haiphong Second Airport

PM Pham Minh Chinh approved a proposal from Haiphong authorities to develop Tien Lang Airport, which would be its second international airport following Cat Bi.

Phan Thiet Airport

Land for the Phan Thiet Airport project has been cleared (photo below), and construction is expected to begin in 2023.

[Photo via Hai Trieu on Facebook.]

Phan Thiet will (eventually) be a stop on the North-South Express Railway (along with a second station in the province), so Phan Thiet could become a coastal hotspot with air and rail connections.

Cam Ranh Airport

Aviation authority seeks $1 billion to upgrade Cam Ranh airport.

The airport for Nha Trang grew far beyond expectations in the 2010s. “The airport was projected to receive 5.5 million passengers annually by 2020 and an annual volume of 8 million passengers by 2030. However, the airport had already served 10 million passengers in 2019.”

The new airport plan would see the airport expanded to serve 25 million passengers and handle 55,000 tonnes of goods annually. The expansion would include a third runway.

Other Vietnam airport news

Gov’t approves construction of new terminal for Cat Bi Int’l Airport in Hai Phong.

Phu Cat Airport (Quy Nhon) proposed to double its capacity to five million passengers a year.

Work begins on $306-mln Sa Pa airport.

Thanh Hoá proposes building a new terminal at Thọ Xuân Airport.

The northern province of Ha Giang, famous for rice terraces and mountain passes, wants a plan to build Tan Quang Airport to be included in the national aviation development scheme. The airport would be around 60 kilometres north of Ha Giang Town.

The Central Highlands province of Kon Tum wants a VND4-trillion ($169.5-million) plan to build Mang Den airport to be included in the national aviation development scheme.

Transport ministry rejects proposal to build $276-mln Moc Chau airport in Son La Province.

Aviation authorities are planning to spend US$4.5 million to upgrade Ca Mau Airport so that it can accommodate aircraft with up to 114 seats instead of only 68 seats currently.

The central province of Quang Binh proposes passenger terminal T2 at Dong Hoi Airport with an annual capacity of three million passengers.The The