VIETNAM’S AIRPORT AMBITIONS HELPED BY MOU WITH DUTCH COMPANIES

Vietnam’s ambition to become a regional hub for passenger and cargo traffic has been boosted by a Dutch-Vietnamese government programme to co-operate on aviation and airport development across the country.

Earier today a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) director, Lai Xuan Thanh, and Royal HaskoningDHV’s director and NACO chairman Craig Huntbatch, representing the partners for International Business Programme ‘Dutch Aviation Vietnam’.

Recent policy changes towards a more liberalised domestic market and innovative partnership between the state and the private sector aim to develop Vietnam’s aviation infrastructure into a regional hub for both passengers and cargo.

Vietnam Airlines, a SkyTeam member, has ambitious plans to become a major force on the global aviation stage.

“The partnership between the Dutch and Vietnamese airlines, airports and aviation service providers will contribute to Vietnam’s ambition to become a regional hub for both passenger and cargo services,” says Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Nienke Trooster. 

“Where the Netherlands has the Port of Rotterdam and Amsterdam Schiphol to make it the gateway to Europe, Vietnam has the potential to develop into the gateway to ASEAN.”
 
Under the leadership of NACO, a group of Dutch companies representing the Netherlands’ expertise in civil aviation research and development, education, management and operations is participating in the programme referred to as ‘Dutch Aviation Vietnam’ (DAV). 

This cluster includes NACO and InterVISTAS, both companies of Royal HaskoningDHV, and Vanderlande, Netherlands Aerospace Group, STRATAGEM, Districon, Ciconia Aviation Services, MovingDot and Avia.

The DAV cluster, together with experts from the Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, will organise the dedicated transfer of know-how for attracting and managing private investment for financing, development and operation of large civil (airport) infrastructure projects, for example the new greenfield project of Long Thanh. 

The programme includes a large component of capacity building for the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, Vietnam Air Traffic Management, Vietnamese airlines, MRO and pilot training providers.

“The entire South East Asian region is an important region for aviation development due to the growth in travel,” says Huntbatch.

“Vietnam is of particular importance, because of the high GDP growth and the recent signing of trade agreements with the EU and US. This will accelerate the flow of travel and tourism which means that airport infrastructure will need to be adapted in parallel to meet this demand.”

Royal HaskoningDHV’s commitment to serving the Vietnamese market is underlined by its participation in the DAV cluster and the appointment of NACO as the cluster leader and overall programme co-ordinator.

Royal HaskoningDHV began its work in Vietnam in 1985 when it was appointed by the World Bank/UNDP to undertake the emergency rehabilitation of a sea dyke destroyed by a typhoon. 

Since then, the company has developed into a strong local market player and a strategic hub for Royal HaskoningDHV operations in South East Asia.  

NACO has been active in South East Asia since the 1970s in the planning and design of airports in countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and in Vietnam since the 2000s.