Construction kicks off at mega Long Thanh airport

Construction of the Long Thanh International Airport's terminal in Dong Nai province and the third terminal at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City commenced on Thursday.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended the Long Thanh airport event. Lai Xuan Thanh, chairman of state-run Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), the investor, said the two projects are of national importance, playing an vital role in the southern region and Vietnam's socio-economic development.

The VND35 trillion ($1.49 billion) terminal package is set to be completed in 39 months. It will cover 150 hectares, featuring one basement and three floors, and 40 aircraft parking positions.

According to ACV, the construction will use the most modern technology in the field of aviation and materials with high durability and aesthetics.

A consortium, named Vietur and led by Turkish conglomerate IC Ictas, in mid-August won the bidding package to build the terminal. Vietur consists of IC Istas, a subsidiary of IC Holdings of Turkey, and nine Vietnamese firms: Ricons; Newtecons; Sol E&C; Construction Corporation No. 1; Vinaconex; Hanoi Construction Corporation; Phuc Hung Holdings; ATAD and Hawee. The Turkish contractor has built the Pulkovo airport in Russia, Varna Burgas in Bulgaria and several airports in its homeland.

Located in Dong Nai province, about 40 kilometers east of HCMC, Long Thanh is expected to ease the burden on the city’s heavily overloaded Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

The VND336.63 trillion ($14.12 billion) project is divided into three phases. The first phase, worth VND110 trillion ($4.64 billion), will consist of a runway, terminal and auxiliary facilities that can serve 25 million passengers per year. The terminal is the largest package in the first phase.

In the second phase, the project will construct an additional runway and terminal to reach a capacity of 50 million passengers a year. The remaining items will be completed in the third phase to give the airport a capacity of 100 million visitors a year.

On the same day, ACV commenced the construction of a third terminal (T3) at the Tan Son Nhat airport in HCMC, neighboring Dong Nai province.

The VND10.99 trillion ($461.4 million) new terminal will cover 112,500 square meters, consisting of a basement and four floors. It is designed to have 90 check-in counters, 20 automatic luggage counters, 42 check-in kiosks, and 27 boarding gates.

The terminal is expected to become operational in the second quarter of 2025. Once completed, T3 will handle domestic flights and up to 20 million passengers annually.

Tan Son Nhat has two terminals now, with T1 serving domestic flights and T2 handling international flights. T1 can serve 15 million passengers a year, while T2's capacity is 10 million.

ACV in early August announced the contractor for construction and equipment installation at T3. The package, worth more than VND9 trillion ($378.5 million), will be undertaken by a consortium of six Vietnamese companies, namely Hanoi Construction Corp, No. 1 Construction Corp, Corporation 319 under the Ministry of Defense, Truong Son Construction Corp, Ricons JSC, and Luu Nguyen Construction Ltd.