Hanoi (VNA) – After five years of construction and overcoming numerous challenges, Long Thanh International Airport officially marked a major milestone on December 19, 2025, when it welcomed its first three flights.
The country’s largest airport is now entering a decisive sprint, with all efforts focused on bringing it into full commercial operation in the first half of 2026.
In late January 2026, construction activities at the massive project site were in full swing under dry seasonal weather conditions. Hundreds of workers and machines were operating day and night on the second runway. Truong Son Corporation, one of seven contractors involved in the package, has mobilised extensive manpower and equipment, organising three shifts across four work teams to accelerate progress.
According to Dao Anh Dung, Director of the Long Thanh Airport Construction Management Board under Truong Son Corporation, the dry season has created favourable conditions for speeding up construction. Contractors are maintaining round-the-clock operations, closely adhering to progress schedules while ensuring construction quality. With the completed workload to date, the second runway is currently three months ahead of schedule compared to the contract timeline.
Meanwhile, at the passenger terminal construction and equipment installation package, structural works were largely completed by the end of 2025. The contractor consortium has now moved into the equipment installation phase. Although the contract sets a completion deadline of November 30, 2026, the involved units are determined to shorten the timeline and complete the package by June this year.
At present, contractors are conducting system integration, static installation acceptance, unloaded and loaded trial runs, and synchronised testing of imported aviation equipment.
“We are making every effort to ensure progress and quality, contributing to this national key project,” a Vinaconex engineer said, noting that the passenger terminal involves a large workload and stringent technical requirements.
According to the Long Thanh Airport Project Management Board, more than 15,000 experts, engineers and workers, along with nearly 3,000 pieces of equipment, are currently deployed across hundreds of construction fronts. All project packages have entered the final acceleration phase, coordinated around the June 2026 operational milestone to ensure system-wide synchronisation and readiness for trial operations.
During an inspection visit in mid-January, Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh praised the efforts of the investor, consultants and contractors in maintaining progress. He urged construction units to continue intensive three-shift operations to speed up completion while strictly safeguarding quality standards. All key items must be finished before June 2026 to ensure timely airport operations as planned.
The minister also stressed the importance of external transport connectivity, calling on Dong Nai province to study and supplement additional access routes linking the airport with national highways, ring roads and the provincial transport network.
Built on more than 5,000 hectares, the Long Thanh International Airport is a three-phase project with an estimated total investment exceeding 16 billion USD. Phase one, costing over 5.4 billion USD, will have a capacity of 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo annually.
Minh emphasised that Long Thanh Airport must not only be fast-tracked but also built to be green, clean and visually appealing, meeting five-star international standards when fully operational. Alongside the completion of phase one, the Ministry of Construction on January 9 assigned Airports Corporation of Vietnam as the investor for phase two, marking the next step in the airport’s long-term development plan./.
