NAY PYI TAW - Myanmar Vice-President U Henry Van Thio has pledged to implement the new Hanthawaddy International Airport project during the time of the incumbent government as a national project, Myanmar News Agency reported Thursday.

Upon completion of the project, it will become a major gateway for international airlines to use and operate their businesses, the second vice president told the leading committee on the airport construction in Nay Pyi Taw Wednesday chaired by himself.

He disclosed that the project being implemented is based on a private-public partnership (PPP) system tendered in 2012.

The Hanthawaddy international airport in central Bago region will be the fourth and the largest of its kind in Myanmar.

By 2020 when the new Hanthawaddy international airport is to be put into service, all international airlines will be moved there from the current Yangon International Airport, reports said.

The project tender was won by a consortium of Yongnam and Changi Airport Planners and Engineering (CAPE) from Singapore and Japan's JGC Corporation in 2014 for the design, construction and management of the airport on the basis of the public-private partnership.

The airport, which is being implemented on more than 3,645 hectares of land, will help bolster the flow of business and leisure travelers as the country witnesses growth in trade and tourism industries, officials said.

The development of the airport will increase commercial and industrial activities around Bago Region and beyond and raise the local residents' standard of living through new job creation over the time in phases.

Once operational, it is projected to handle up to 12 million passengers a year and will become a major international gateway into Myanmar and a regional aviation hub.