Korea Airports Corporation's Overseas Projects 'Sailing Smoothly'... Launching Laos Airport Development

Overview of Luang Prabang Airport, Laos

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyewon] Korea Airports Corporation is entering the airport development project in Laos, a New Southern policy country. Next month, it will sign a contract to acquire the operating rights of Manta Airport in Ecuador, expanding its overseas airport business area.

On the 17th, Korea Airports Corporation announced that it had been officially notified by the Ministry of Planning and Investment of Laos as the feasibility study executor for the Luang Prabang Airport development project. It surpassed strong competitors from France, Japan, and Malaysia. Korea Airports Corporation plans to conduct a feasibility study for about six months, including air traffic demand forecasting, airport operation system improvement plans, and environmental impact assessments, and then form a Team Korea consortium to actively promote airport facility improvements. The project period is 10 to 30 years, with a scale of approximately 100 billion KRW.

Korea Airports Corporation won the construction project of the new Chinchero Airport in Peru in 2019 and has been overseeing the construction of the Chinchero New Airport, the gateway to Machu Picchu, until 2024. In April, it also secured a 30-year long-term operation project of Manta Airport in Ecuador worth 540 billion KRW. With this entry into the Laos airport development project, Korea Airports Corporation is expanding its overseas airport business area, which had been concentrated in Africa and South America, to the Asia-Pacific region, solidifying its position as a global airport operator.

Son Changwan, President of Korea Airports Corporation, said, "During the difficult times of the ongoing COVID-19 situation, we have delivered consecutive successful overseas airport business entries in Ecuador and Laos. We will actively pioneer the global airport market by widely promoting the experience, know-how, and excellence of K-Airports as a global airport specialist company."

There is currently no direct flight route from Korea to Luang Prabang, Laos. Once Korea Airports Corporation begins full-scale development of Luang Prabang Airport, which handles about 1.2 million passengers annually, it is expected to improve accessibility through direct flight routes and also play a role in exchanges between Korea and Laos.

Korea Airports Corporation is also preparing the Long Thanh New Airport construction project in Vietnam, aiming for opening in 2025, together with private companies. A bidding support team led by the Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will be dispatched to the site in July, and the corporation plans to participate once the first phase construction and design bidding announcements are made within the year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.