Personnel changes behind slow Long Thanh airport progress: minister

One of the subjective causes for the slow progress of the Long Thanh International Airport project in the southern province of Dong Nai is changes to key personnel of the provincial People's Committee, said Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang on Thursday.

The minister also attributed cumbersome resettlement planning procedures, lengthy bidding design process, and labor force scarcity after the Covid-19 pandemic to the sluggish progress of construction packages.

“The government will continue to evaluate and identify subjective causes to draw lessons and find thorough solutions in the coming time,” he told a discussion at the National Assembly (NA) on a feasibility study for the land recovery, compensation, and resettlement assistance project serving the construction of Long Thanh airport.

Thang said that the Dong Nai People's Committee will coordinate with ministries to fix shortcomings once the National Assembly approves the extension of the implementation period of the land recovery, compensation, and resettlement assistance project to the end of 2024, instead of 2021 as initially set.

The provincial People's Committee must require investors to submit detailed construction schedules and take every measure to ensure the progress of this important airport project, he stressed.

The government and prime minister will keep a close watch on the project's implementation and remove any obstacles facing the construction, he added.

Earlier, many legislators raised concerns about the slow progress of the Long Thanh airport project.

Nguyen Viet Nga representing the northern province of Hai Duong said that the government report mentioned multiple causes leading to the proposed extension of the project's implementation period, but they were all deemed objective.

“Subjective causes must be pointed out so that we can take effective remedial measures to avoid any delays in the future,” she stated.

Echoing Nga, Nguyen Mai Hoa representing the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap said that the pandemic was not the main reason for slow construction as Dong Nai province and the government had said they would hand over the site in 2020, before Covid-19 hit the province in mid-2021.

“There are many areas that the government and Dong Nai province need to analyze to gain more lessons and find more appropriate solutions when implementing similar projects in the future,” she said.

Hoa worried that the adjustment of this component project will affect the expected completion of the first phase of the airport by 2025.

“There needs to be a clear commitment from the government,” she stressed.

Long Thanh International Airport, about 40 kilometers east of Ho Chi Minh City, is a mega project with a total investment of VND336.63 trillion ($14.12 billion) divided into three phases. The first phase, worth VND110 trillion, 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.

Construction of the VND35 trillion ($1.49 billion) terminal commenced on August 31, 2023 and is set to be completed in 39 months. It will cover 150 hectares, featuring one basement and three floors, and 40 aircraft parking positions.

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.

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.

Once completed, the airport will be the nation’s biggest, helping reduce overload at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCMC.