When an airliner needs more than a routine turnaround — one of the deep, weeks-long teardowns that strip it to the structure, inspect everything and put it back together — it doesn’t just taxi to a gate. It disappears into an MRO: a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility, the unglamorous industrial backbone that keeps the whole aviation system flying safely.
Across fast-growing Asia, there are not enough of them. On 16 June 2026, four companies moved to change that, agreeing to build a roughly US$360 million aircraft-maintenance complex at Vietnam’s Van Don International Airport — one of the largest such facilities the country has ever seen.
Where: Van Don International Airport, Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam
Partners: HAECO, Sun Group, Toyota Tsusho and Japan Airlines
Investment: around US$360 million, covering ~170,000 m²
Centrepiece: A four-bay wide-body hangar, plus narrow-body capacity
Opens: operations expected to begin in 2028 (~1,000 jobs)
A Four-Bay Hangar for the Region’s Backlog
The joint venture brings together Hong Kong’s HAECO — one of the world’s big independent maintenance providers — Vietnam’s Sun Group, Japan’s Toyota Tsusho, and Japan Airlines as both investor and future customer. The cornerstone is a four-bay hangar able to swallow wide-body jets, with additional bays configured for narrow-bodies. HAECO is already recruiting Vietnamese technicians and training them at its facilities in Xiamen, China, ahead of the 2028 opening.
Why Airlines Are Building “Jet Hospitals”
The problem the venture is chasing is a simple mismatch: Asia’s airline fleets have grown far faster than the region’s ability to maintain them. Most of Southeast Asia’s heavy MRO work is concentrated in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, which means carriers in countries like Vietnam often have to ferry aircraft abroad for major checks — expensive, time-consuming, and a recipe for aircraft sitting idle when hangar slots are scarce.
When there is nowhere to fix a grounded jet quickly, the result is exactly what passengers feel as cancellations and delays. Vietnam’s civil aviation authority projects the country’s MRO market will reach US$7.4 billion by 2030 — a gap this complex is designed to fill.
Vietnam Moves Up the Value Chain
For Vietnam, the project is another step in a fast-moving aviation ambition that also includes the giant new Long Thanh airport in the south. The country is climbing from simply operating aircraft toward building and maintaining them — capturing the high-value engineering work that has long sat elsewhere. For Japan Airlines, it secures a modern, lower-cost overhaul base close to home.
It will never make a magazine cover. But the four-bay hangar rising at Van Don is the kind of infrastructure that quietly decides whether a region’s aviation boom keeps flying — or grinds to a halt for want of somewhere to turn a wrench.
Sources: JAL Group press release; Toyota Tsusho; Aviation Week; AeroTime; FlightGlobal; Sun Group.
Related Questions
What is an MRO in aviation?
An MRO — maintenance, repair and overhaul — is the industrial facility where airliners undergo deep, weeks-long teardowns that strip them to the structure for inspection before reassembly. These facilities are the unglamorous backbone that keeps the aviation system flying safely, handling work far beyond a routine gate turnaround.
Where is the new Van Don aircraft maintenance complex?
The complex is being built at Van Don International Airport in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam. Announced on 16 June 2026, it is a joint venture between HAECO, Sun Group, Toyota Tsusho and Japan Airlines, covering about 170,000 m² and centred on a four-bay wide-body hangar plus narrow-body capacity.
How much does the Vietnam MRO project cost?
The Van Don maintenance complex represents an investment of around US$360 million — one of the largest aircraft-maintenance facilities Vietnam has ever built. Operations are expected to begin in 2028, creating roughly 1,000 jobs and helping clear the deep-maintenance backlog across fast-growing Asia.
Why does Asia need more aircraft maintenance facilities?
Asia's airline fleets are growing faster than the region's capacity to service them, leaving a shortage of hangars for deep maintenance. Many modern airliners must travel long distances for overhauls, so new MRO complexes like Van Don aim to close that gap and keep aircraft in the region.
What systems are checked during a heavy aircraft overhaul?
A heavy check inspects nearly everything: the airframe structure, landing gear, hydraulics, flight controls, wiring, the engines and even the tail-mounted auxiliary power unit. Components are removed, examined for corrosion and fatigue, repaired or replaced, then the aircraft is reassembled and tested before returning to service.
Who is HAECO?
HAECO, the Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company, is one of the world's largest independent aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul providers. As the lead aviation partner in the Van Don venture, it brings decades of wide-body hangar experience to Vietnam's new complex.
What is a wide-body hangar?
A wide-body hangar is a maintenance building large enough to enclose twin-aisle jets such as the Boeing 777 or Airbus A350. The Van Don facility's centrepiece is a four-bay wide-body hangar, meaning four such aircraft can be serviced simultaneously, alongside additional narrow-body capacity.
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