A rendering of the Long Thanh International Airport plan in the southern province of Dong Nai. (Photo courtesy of Airports Corporation of Vietnam) HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Construction of the proposed Long Thanh international airport in thesouthern province of Dong Nai is expected to start next month as promised bythe State-owned Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), the airport’s maindeveloper.
Lai Xuan Thanh, chairman ofACV, which operates 22 airports across the country, said the first phase of theairport, with an investment of more than 4.6 billion USD, is projected tobe completed by 2025.
ACV will need to raiseabout 99 trillion VND (4.28 billion USD), or 90 percent of total capital neededfor the first phase of the airport.
It is set to have 36.6 trillionVND (1.57 billion USD) by 2025, or 37 percent of the investment, and the restfrom commercial loans and bonds.
The corporation has been working with12 domestic and international credit institutions to borrow the remainingat an interest rate of 5-5.5 percent a year with a loan term of 15 years.
In addition, the Government hasproposed that the Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corp should be theinvestor of the control tower and other safety features.
The Government has alsoproposed building two additional roads to enhance better connections betweenthe city and the new airport.
Dong Nai province has alreadyhanded over 1,800 hectares to make way for the airport. The corporation ismaking a detailed plan for the construction.
According to Thanh, ACV is alsothe developer of other key projects such as the third terminal at Tan Son Nhatinternational airport in HCM City, and the expansion of the internationalterminal at Hanoi’s Noi Bai international airport.
The government last weekofficially approved the first phase of the airport.
The project has four componentprojects such as the headquarters of State management agencies, flightmanagement services, essential airport facilities, and other works.
ACV will invest in the firstrunway, taxiways, a terminal, an aircraft parking space, and other majorinfrastructure at the airport.
The investment was approved bythe National Assembly in 2017, which also issued a resolution on compensationand resettlement of and support for affected individuals and organisations.
The airport will be built inthree phases over three decades, and is expected to become the country’slargest airport.
In the first phase, one runwaywith a length of 4,000m, taxiways, an apron, and a passenger terminal withother auxiliary works with a total floor area of 373,000 sq.m willbe built to serve 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo eachyear.
The airport is expected to havefour runways, four passenger terminals, and other auxiliary works to ensure acapacity of 100 million passengers and 5 million tonnes of cargo a year by2040.
Covering a total area of morethan 5,580ha, the airport will straddle six communes in Long Thanh district. Itis expected to cost 336.63 trillion VND (14.47 billion USD).
The airport work requires morethan 5,000ha of land and more than 364ha elsewhere to build two resettlementsites.
Around 4,800 households and 26organisations are expected to be relocated to make way for it.
Located 40km to the east of HCMCity, the Long Thanh airport is expected to relieve overloadingat Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City, the country’s largestairport./.
VNA
