Vietnam To Sell Former US Airbase For $540 Million

Vietnam plans to sell former US airbase measuring more than 186 hectares in Nha Trang valued at around US $540 Million.

The airbase is open for sale to investors for a shopping-services mixed development under a build-transfer project, thanhnien news reported Tuesday.

Potential investors have not been revealed but earlier reports said at least four companies had expressed interest.

The news daily cited Tran Hoa Nam, director of the Khanh Hoa Department of Investment and Planning as saying that around 10 hectares on the beachfront are slated for public facilities like a park, a museum, and an exhibition center.

The airport was used by the US during the Vietnam War before 1975 and served civil aviation until 2004 when flights moved to nearby Cam Ranh Airport.

It completely stopped functioning as an airport in late 2009 when the Air Force moved to Cam Ranh and Phan Thiet Airport in Binh Thuan Province to the south.

News website Zing quoted Nam as saying that VND5.5 trillion of the money raised would be handed over to the defense ministry for spending on Cam Ranh and Phan Thiet airports.