Vietnamese prime minister in a rush to complete major airport projects as the clock ticks down

Vietnam is in a bind where its airports are concerned. It needs more of them, and it needs to modernise the existing ones.

The main operator, Airports Corporation of Vietnam, almost came to an inward investment agreement in 2017, which would have meant that France's Groupe ADP took a 20% stake, and quite possibly would have invested in the country's airports thereafter.

But that never happened, and finding external investors since then has not been easy.

Now, with capacity vastly exceeded at Ho Chi Minh's main airport (the principle point of entry), and the project to build the Long Thanh airport there (a very costly one) stalled, the prime minister is laying down the law on completion dates. He would like to see things done with a couple of key political events in mind.

Moreover, there is a vague plan for a second airport at the capital, Hanoi, along with the intent to have 30 airports nationally by 2050.

With tourists returning in droves, there is mounting pressure to get a move-on with all these projects, but it will probably require the help of experts abroad - and their money.