The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam held a seminar in HCM City onMay 14 to discuss the issues facing the proposed 8 billion USD LongThanh International Airport near the city.
Lai Xuan Thanh, head of the CAAV, said building an aviation hub or entrepot was a long-term strategic mission of his agency.
Theairport would also help resolve the issues facing Tan Son NhatInternational Airport like noise and air pollution and threats to thesafety of densely populated urban areas nearby.
"In future Tan Son Nhat will no longer meet the demands of airlines flying to Vietnam."
TranDinh Thien, the director of the Vietnam Economic Research Institute andan enthusiastic backer of the project, said since the airport wasclosely linked with the country's future, there should be a vision for alonger term than just five or 10 years.
Even if Tan Son Nhat wasexpanded to double its current size, it would remain a traditionalterminal, and in any case, due to its urban location, expansion wasimpossible, he said.
"The regional hub cannot always beSingapore. If we want to compete with Singapore and Thailand, we shouldhave a different view on Long Thanh International Terminal. It shouldnot only be a place for transporting passengers; it is also a transitpoint for cargo."
Le Manh Hung, General Director of the AirportsCorporation of Vietnam, said Tan Son Nhat had a capacity of 25 millionpassengers a year, and would be overloaded by 2017.
To expand itscapacity to 40-50 million, an additional 641ha of land would be neededin Tan Binh, Go Vap, and Phu Nhuan District and 500,000 people wouldhave to be relocated, he said.
"The location selected forbuilding the international airport has adequate conditions forestablishing a transit international terminal that will be competitivein the region."
Dr Tran Dinh Ba, who had proposed themuch-debated straight-line air route between HCM City and Hanoi,expressed the fear that the new airport's 18.7 billion USD cost was toohigh for the country.
Deputy Minister of Transport Pham Quy Tieusaid it was imperative to quickly build Long Thanh airport, adding itwould give a boost to the country's economic development.
LongThanh, approved by the Government in 2011, is scheduled to open in 2020with a capacity of 25 million passengers a year, according toauthorities in Dong Nai province, where the airport is to be built.
To be built in three phases, it is expected to be fully completed by 2035 with a capacity of 100 million passengers.
Construction is scheduled to begin this year.-VNA