Da Nang International Airport is one of the busiest in the country, but its current design capacity (approximately 12 million passengers per year) is no longer sufficient to handle the growing tourist flow. Following the administrative merger of the former Quang Nam province with the city of Da Nang in 2025, Chu Lai Airport , located in the former Quang Nam province, now lies within the city boundaries of Da Nang International. Authorities have decided to develop both airports in parallel rather than endlessly expand just one.
The scale of the Chu Lai project is not just an “expansion”
The plan is to transform Chu Lai into a full-fledged aviation and economic megaproject worth $10 billion : vnexpress
3,3 billion for the construction of a new international standard airport
6,7 billion for the creation of an entire “airport ecosystem” around it: a 225-hectare free trade zone, a 185-hectare eco-urban district (according to other sources, a 545-hectare eco-urban and industrial zone), and a 360-hectare industrial park vnexpress +1
The planned capacity is 10 million passengers and 1,5 million tons of cargo by 2030 , and up to 30 million passengers per year by 2050 , which meets the ICAO 4F standard for large international hubs. By comparison, Chu Lai currently serves only about 1,2 million passengers per year. vnekonomy +2
How does this relate to Da Nang Airport itself?
The authorities' idea isn't competition, but load-sharing: Da Nang International will remain a priority for international flights and tourism, and excess traffic will eventually be redirected to Chu Lai. According to the current master plan, Da Nang International itself is also expanding—to 20 million passengers by 2030 (the current design capacity is around 12 million): Terminal T1 will be expanded to 14 million passengers, T2 to 6 million, and the number of aircraft parking spaces will almost double to 52. The groundbreaking ceremony for the $57 million expansion of Terminal T2 took place on May 19, 2026. vcci.com +4
By 2030, Da Nang will thus have two international airports with a combined capacity of 25 million passengers per year.
What has already been done and what is still just plans
According to documents for the end of 2025 – beginning of 2026:
The Ministry of Construction has already submitted a report on the master plan for Chu Lai to the government, with priority given to this airport in order to relieve the burden on Da Nang International.
In December 2025, a memorandum of strategic cooperation for 2026-2030 was signed between Da Nang International, Chu Lai, and the terminal operator AHT to jointly promote new routes and tourism in Vietnam.
In 2026, it is planned to open 1-2 new international routes through Chu Lai.
Da Nang authorities are also working on a transport link between the two airports so that excess traffic can be effectively redirected.
Сonclusion
So far, this is primarily the stage of approved plans and initiated PPP procedures , rather than completed infrastructure—the $10 billion megaproject itself is still undergoing approval as a public-private partnership. But concrete steps are already underway: the expansion of T2 in Da Nang began in May 2026, and Chu Lai has been officially prioritized in the National Aviation Master Plan. The goal is to complete the main investment procedures and begin construction within the next two years, with a full implementation horizon of 2030-2050.
