Aviation: Cam Ranh airport expansion plan to become one of Vietnam’s largest
Cam Ranh International Airport in Khanh Hoa is set for major expansion, with capacity targets of 25 million passengers by 2030 and 36 million by 2050, if a new master plan for the airport goes ahead, The Investor has reported → view source.
The article contains updated capacity targets and expansion details, showing how Vietnam is reshaping its airport infrastructure strategy beyond pre-pandemic projections.
Key details
- Planning authority: Developed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV).
- Capacity expansion: Passenger capacity will rise sharply, with a new T1 terminal (21 million passengers initially, later 32 million) complementing the existing T2 (4 million). Cargo capacity will expand to 100,000 tons by 2050.
- Infrastructure upgrades: Apron stands will grow from 61 by 2030 to 86 by 2050, handling wide-body aircraft (A350, B787) under CAT II landing standards. A general and private aviation zone is also included.
- Land use: Total airport area planned at 628 hectares, with both civil and military allocations.
- Planning shift: Earlier projections (2009 plan) underestimated demand. The airport exceeded its 2030 passenger target before the pandemic, handling nearly 10 million in 2019.
- Regional context: Expansion coincides with the July 2025 merger of Khanh Hoa and Ninh Thuan provinces, positioning Cam Ranh as a central aviation hub for tourism.
This is part of Vietnam’s broader airport development strategy, where regional tourism hubs like Cam Ranh are scaled up to handle long-term growth.
This is, of course, very ambitious but it is only a plan and has not been approved nor funded.
It is, however, useful as a directional indicator of where Vietnam’s aviation planners see demand emerging.
