HCMC – The Long Thanh International Airport project in Dong Nai Province, once completed, would contribute an estimated 3-5% of Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP), Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said at a ceremony held to start work on the first phase of the project today, January 5.
The Government leader said the long-awaited project would be among the 16 most anticipated airport projects in the world. It is also Vietnam’s largest ever infrastructure project, the local media reported.
Once in place, the airport will contribute to boosting the country’s socioeconomic development and the connectivity between Vietnam and other countries.
Basic and connected infrastructure plays a decisive role in socio-economic development and national defense, the prime minister stressed, adding that the Party and the State have focused on investing in traffic infrastructure.
According to PM Phuc, the number of air passengers in the southern region would reach 65 million by 2025 and 80 million by 2030. In addition, the demand for air cargo transport is increasing, while most of local airports are overloaded.
However, he praised the State Appraisal Council and the relevant ministries and agencies for their directions to complete procedures on the groundbreaking of the project. He also hailed Dong Nai Province and its residents for handing over the cleared site for the project’s first phase and the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) for ensuring funding for the project.
The project will help foster air routes and connectivity between Vietnam and the ASEAN countries, and between Vietnam and other countries and ease the chronic passenger overload at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCMC. After 2030, it may become a transit airport in Asia and the world as a whole as it will take only three hours to fly from the airport to Japan or South Korea.
The prime minister asked the Commission for the Management of State Capital at Enterprises to direct ACV to ensure the progress of the project and compliance with the law during the project’s execution, prevent any cost overruns and follow the approved design, while the relevant ministries and agencies were asked to quickly complete the investment procedures for the remaining components.
PM Phuc also required the governments of Dong Nai, HCMC and the adjacent southeastern provinces and the Ministry of Transport to connect the airport with the North-South expressway railway, HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway and two forthcoming metro lines in HCMC to step up the development of the region.
The relevant ministries and agencies should pay special attention to the development of services at the airport to create more jobs for locals.
PM Phuc stressed that the Government would create favorable conditions to remove obstacles facing the project and asked the investor to enhance inspections to ensure the quality of the project and prevent losses and wastefulness.
He also expected to receive further support from the local residents to complete the project as scheduled.
The project’s quality must be the top priority. In addition, the Dong Nai government must ensure the resettlement of households affected by the project.
ACV Chairman Lai Xuan Thanh said the airport is expected to meet the 4F standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization to become an international transit hub in the region
In the first phase, a passenger terminal, a runway and supporting facilities will be developed to transport 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tons of cargo per year. The total investment for phase one, which is expected to be completed by 2025, is estimated at some VND109.1 trillion.
ACV committed to ensuring the resources and coordinating with the Dong Nai government to ensure the quality and progress of the project and prevent a cost overrun, Thanh added.
