Gia Binh International Airport in Bac Ninh province is poised to become the largest airport in northern Vietnam, overtaking Hanoi’s Noi Bai Airport. The Ministry of Construction has approved a major revision to the project’s scale, increasing its land area from 408.5 hectares to 1,960 hectares. The airport is now expected to handle 30 million passengers annually by 2030 and 50 million by 2050—up from earlier targets of 5 million and 15 million, respectively. Once completed, Gia Binh will be the second-largest airport nationwide, after Long Thanh Airport in Dong Nai.
Under the revised master plan for 2021–2030 with a vision to 2050, Gia Binh is classified as a level 4E airport, capable of accommodating large aircraft with wingspans of up to 65 meters. The total investment for the project is estimated at VND120.84 trillion (ISD4.62 billion) for the 2021–2030 period and VND61.46 trillion (USD2.35 billion) through 2050. Construction began in December 2024 and is scheduled to finish within 18 months, under the direction of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
The construction ministry has also revised down Noi Bai Airport’s projected capacity to 30 million passengers by 2030 and 50 million by 2050. The airport’s development budget through 2050 is set at VND9.98 trillion (USD381.72 million), with no expansion planned in the current decade. Overall, the national airport network will span around 25,791 hectares and require VND444.71 trillion (USD17.01 billion) in funding by 2030. Vietnam aims to expand its airport system from 22 to 30 by 2030 and to 33 by 2050, including 14 international and 19 domestic airports.