ACV earmarks 1.5 billion USD for Long Thanh airport construction

AVC Chairman Lai Xuan Thanh (Photo: Vietnam+)

Hanoi (VNA) – The State-owned Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) plans to invest 45 trillion VND (1.5 billion USD) in the first phase of the Long Thanh International Airport in the southern province of Dong Nai, AVC Chairman Lai Xuan Thanh.

The first phase of the project costs an estimated 111.689 trillion VND or about 4.779 billion USD, with the remaining to come from commercial loans and financial institutions, he said an interviewed granted to the Vietnam News Agency.

At present, the corporation earmarked 25 trillion VND (1.079 billion USD) for the construction of the third terminal of the Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City and the first phase of the Long Thanh International Airport.

It will raise about 85-87 trillion VND (3.67-3.75 billion USD) between now and 2025 for these two projects, he said.

According to him, the Government should let the private sector develop entire airports rather than some of their components.

He said Vietnam is forecast to have one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation industries in the years ahead. Therefore, its sustainable development is critical.

Sustainable development applies to all aspects from State management to infrastructure, including airports, flight control, air services, passenger terminals and aprons, he stressed.

The Government has assigned ACV to develop, manage and operate infrastructure at 22 airports. In the short term, the corporation will focus on maintain its existing systems for the sake of aviation safety and security.

Calling for the private sector’s involvement in airport development must harmonise interests of both investor and society. ACV wants more private sector capital for airport development, he said, highlighting the investment model of the Van Don International Airport in the northern province of Quang Ninh as a good example.

Vietnam’s private property conglomerate Sun Group has injected nearly 7.7 trillion VND into Van Don airport, the first ever developed under the build-operate-transfer format in Vietnam.

Thanh noted that when an airport is being constructed, having its components developed by several private investors affects the investment and business plan of ACV.

Design of Long Thanh airport (Photo: Vietnam+)

He cited a proposal to build an airport in the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien at an estimated cost of around 5.5 trillion VND, some 3.77 trillion VND of which will be used for the take-off zone, while 1.7 trillion VND from public-private partnerships will be allocated for development of a passenger terminal.

In this case, the Government will have to provide most of the funding for the take-off zone, where capital recovery will be difficult. He said that if ACV is in charge of the airport’s construction, it would be willing to develop both the take-off zone and terminal.

Work on the Long Thanh airport project is likely to start in late 2020 as scheduled. The airport will be put into operation in 2025 if the project maintains its current progress.

The airport is designed to handle up to 100 million passengers and five million tonnes of cargo per year once its three phases are completed in 2050.

In the first phase, slated for completion by 2025, the airport will have one runway and one passenger terminal able to accommodate 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo per year.

The second runway and terminal will be built in the second phase to raise the airport’s annual capacity to 50 million passengers and 1.5 million tonnes of cargo.

The three phases are estimated to cost 5.4 billion USD now, but experts have warned this could double if the project is delayed by five years.

Located 40km to the east of HCM City, Long Thanh airport is expected to relieve overloading at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City, the country’s largest airport./.