Phu Quoc International Airport – “gateway to the Jade Island”
Phu Quoc International Airport is located in Group 2, Duong To Hamlet, Phu Quoc Special Administrative Region, An Giang Province. This airport was put into operation in 2012, serving as the sole air transport gateway directly connecting Phu Quoc with the rest of Vietnam as well as the world, contributing to making Phu Quoc an "international resort paradise" with an increasingly rich and convenient flight network.
In 2018, the airport's expansion contributed to increasing the passenger terminal area from 24,325m2 to 36,167m2; the number of aircraft stands increased from 4 to 12 (8 domestic, 4 international); the number of baggage carousels increased from 5 to 7; the passenger handling capacity of the terminal increased from 2.65 million passengers/year to 4 million passengers/year.
Despite significant upgrades in 2018, in recent years, Phu Quoc International Airport has continued to record passenger growth rates far exceeding initial forecasts. The number of domestic and international tourists has increased sharply, especially during peak seasons, causing the terminal and airside infrastructure to frequently operate in a state of overload, approaching or exceeding design capacity. Along with that, Vietnam's official hosting of APEC in the coming time, with Phu Quoc being one of the key venues, has created an urgent need to continue investing in upgrading and expanding the airport. This is not only a technical requirement to ensure safety and operational quality, but also a strategic requirement to meet its role as an international gateway, serving national-level foreign affairs events and affirming Phu Quoc's new position on the regional and global map.
On June 19, Kien Giang Provincial People's Committee awarded investment decisions for projects serving the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum 2027. Among these, Kien Giang Provincial People's Committee approved Sun Group's Sun Airport Corporation (SAC) as the investor to implement the Phu Quoc airport expansion project.
The design of Terminal T2 for the Phu Quoc Airport expansion project is inspired by the image of the Phoenix, a bird symbolizing power and noble beauty.
Following this, on November 19, Sun Group officially took over the entire infrastructure at Phu Quoc International Airport in its original state. This is the key legal step for the Phu Quoc International Airport expansion project to enter the actual construction implementation phase. The milestone also demonstrates the role and position of Sun Group in investing, upgrading, and operating the airport, creating conditions to accelerate the progress of expansion items to be ready to serve APEC 2027.
The mega-project has a total investment of nearly VND 22,000 billion, implemented on a scale of over 1,050 hectares according to the plan, promising to bring world-leading, seamless, and intelligent premium experiences, contributing to enhancing the position of Phu Quoc as a destination right from the "gateway".
The project will extend the current runway of Phu Quoc Airport from 3,000m to 3,500m and build a second runway with a length of 3,300m, meeting the demand for operating wide-body aircraft such as Boeing 747, 787, or Airbus A350. Additionally, the apron and taxiway systems will also be synchronously invested in, aiming to increase the operating capacity to 20 million passengers per year, about 4-5 times the current capacity.
The expansion project will construct Terminal T2 for Phu Quoc Airport with a terminal design inspired by the image of the phoenix bird - a bird symbolizing power and noble beauty.
This terminal is expected to integrate world-leading contactless technology applications and intelligent, modern operations, such as: remote check-in processes, automated baggage sorting, biometric identification technology enabling check-in times of only 15-20 seconds per person, and an airport overall management system (TAM) that connects and digitizes all operations. The VIP terminal of Phu Quoc Airport will also be newly built, ensuring the highest standards of security, protocol, and comfort, meeting the stringent requirements of international events, including APEC 2027.
Which "big players" are participating in the mega-project of Phu Quoc International Airport?
The Phu Quoc International Airport expansion project is led and invested by Sun Group, and will be designed and consulted by CPG Consultants and Artelia Airport - leading global airport design firms based in Singapore and France. The collaboration between Sun Group (the project investor) with CPG Consultants (Singapore) and Artelia Airport (France) forms a "strategic trio", creating a solid three-legged foundation for shaping the future of this airport.
The expansion project of Phu Quoc International Airport, invested by Sun Group, will apply contactless technology and smart operation, approaching world-leading airports.
In which, CPG Consultans is assessed by experts as a leading airport expert in Asia-Pacific with over 50 years of experience participating in the construction and development projects of major airports worldwide. This is the unit that has been associated with the development of Changi Airport (Singapore) from the initial planning phase in the 1970s, and simultaneously, has a series of projects in China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia…
For CPG Consultans, airports are not merely transportation infrastructure but a “destination” with a design philosophy focusing on passenger experience, local identity, and community connection. For example, Changi Airport Terminal 3, for which CPG Consultans undertook the role of architectural design consulting, has become one of the leading airports in the region and internationally. The project impresses visitors from all over the world upon arrival in the Lion City with its giant rectangular roof, filled with natural light, inspired by the image of tropical rainforest canopies.
Meanwhile, Artelia Airport (France) is also considered one of Europe's leading aviation infrastructure "experts" with a network of over 200 airport experts globally, having undertaken over 500 airport projects in more than 80 countries from Europe, the Middle East, Asia to Africa.
Artelia Airport has participated in the development and modernization of a series of major airports such as: Beijing Daxing (China), Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Paris-Orly, Marseille Provence (France), Copenhagen Airport (Denmark), Dubai Airport, Al Maktoum International Airport, Bahrain Airport, Hamad International Airport…
The participation of Artelia Airport in Phu Quoc is expected to strengthen the depth of aviation engineering, especially in runways, aprons, safety-security systems, and green solutions, contributing to ensuring the project approaches the standards of major world airports, while also helping the T2 Phu Quoc terminal to be not only architecturally beautiful but also operate efficiently, safely, and sustainably in the long-term development process.
With the companionship of the trio Sun Group – CPG – Artelia, Phu Quoc International Airport is expected to become one of the most modern, distinctive, and friendly leading regional airports, worthy of being the "golden gateway" welcoming international tourists to Vietnam's Pearl Island.
