HCMC – National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue has told the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) to speed up work on the Long Thanh International Airport in Dong Nai Province so that the first phase of the multi-billion-dollar project can be ready by National Day (September 2) in 2025.
On Sunday, October 2, Hue, also a Politburo member, paid a working visit to the southern province where he met with provincial leaders over the progress of this megaproject in Long Thanh District, reported the Giao Thong news site (baogiaothong.vn). At the meeting, he underlined the importance of the project, saying Long Thanh would become a leading aviation hub in Southeast Asia.
He praised the central Government’s determination to inaugurate the first phase of the airport on September 2, 2025, instead of the end of that year. Therefore, the deadline cannot be met if there is no sense of responsibility and urgency, he stressed.
“All agencies from the National Assembly to the Government, ministries and local authorities need to focus on the airport with the highest resolve and responsibility to meet the aspiration of the Vietnamese.”
ACV said at the meeting that the runway, taxiway, apron and other components are on schedule and that construction work on key items would begin in the fourth quarter of this year.
Pile driving at the passenger terminal construction site has been completed earlier than planned, with all the 1,545 piles driven into the ground, said Lai Xuan Thanh, chairman of ACV.
He added the building of the terminal will start construction in the coming months.
However, thousands of families have yet to move out of the 5,000-hectare project location, with a 1,810-hectare area still home to around 100 families that have not agreed to relocate.
This situation has to some extent affected the progress of the project.
Cao Tien Dung, chairman of Dong Nai Province, said about 96% of land needed for the airport project had been handed over to the investor and that Long Thanh District would soon complete land clearance and handover.
The local authorities have had a tough time dealing with land clearance because many families do not have legitimate land documentation, making it difficult to compensate, Dung noted.
In the first phase with a total cost of US$4.6 billion, the Long Thanh airport will have a 4,000-meter-long runway, taxiways and aprons and be able to serve 25 million passengers per year.
The airport will be able to handle up to 100 million passengers and five million tons of cargo a year when it is fully finished.
