HCMC – Three consortiums, consisting of foreign and local contractors, have submitted their bids for a tender package to construct the passenger terminal at Long Thanh International Airport.
In September 2022, the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) invited tenders for the first time for bidding package 5.10, which involves the construction and installation of equipment for the passenger terminal, a key component in phase one of Long Thanh airport in the southern province of Dong Nai.
Initially, just one consortium, which comprises Coteccons, Hoa Binh, Vinaconex, Central, Phuc Hung Holdings, REE and HAWEE, expressed interest in the tender. However, ACV cancelled bidding package 5.10 and issued a second tender invitation from March 28 to April 28. The deadline was later extended to June 12.
To attract more qualified local and international contractors, ACV relaxed certain requirements on schedule and financial capacity. As a result, three consortiums have now submitted their bids. These consortiums consist of experienced foreign contractors partnering with renowned local construction companies: CHEC-BCEG-Vietnam Contractors, Hoa Lu, and Vietur.
The first consortium, CHEC-BCEG-Vietnam Contractors, has two leading Chinese contractors, China Harbour Engineering Company Limited and CHEC. These contractors have a proven track record in handling large-scale projects at airports and seaports worldwide.
In the Hoa Lu consortium, the only foreign contractor is Powerline Engineering Public Company Limited (PLE) from Thailand. PLE has experience in constructing Suvarnabhumi Airport, Thailand’s largest airport. Their expertise lies in electrical installations, air conditioning, water plumbing, and fire-fighting and prevention systems.
The third consortium, Vietur, is led by IC ISTAS, a Turkish company. IC ISTAS is among the top three largest Turkish contractors and has experience in building international airports such as St. Petersburg Pulkovo, Antalya Airport (through build-operate-transfer and public-private partnership), and the first phase of King Khaled Airport in Saudi Arabia.
Vietur also includes local construction companies such as Ricons, Newtecons, SOL E&C, and Vinaconex.
ACV stated that due to the complexity of the package, it may take one and a half months to assess the consortiums in terms of experience, equipment and machinery, human resources, and, especially, financial capacity.
If everything goes smoothly, ACV expects to conduct negotiations and sign agreements with the bidding winners in September of this year.
Selecting contractors for the passenger terminal package of Long Thanh International Airport is a crucial step in expediting the entire project, as the bottlenecks caused by the inability to find qualified contractors for this significant component have now been removed.
