A rendering of the proposed Long Thành International Airport in the southern province of Đồng Nai. — Photo courtesy of Airports Corporation of Việt Nam

ĐỒNG NAI — Vietnamese authorities have apprehended several officials from the Long Thành District Land Development Centre on allegations of land compensation irregularities, linked to the under-construction Long Thành International Airport in Đồng Nai Province.

On February 23, Lê Quang Hùng (the centre's director), Nguyễn Long Châu (the deputy director) and three team leaders, including Nguyễn Thái Bình, Lý Thanh Bình and Trần Nhật Linh, were detained on charges of “abuse of power and bribery related to land compensation.”

The initiative is part of an ongoing investigation conducted by provincial Đồng Nai Police, which has already implicated additional individuals for accepting bribes and misappropriating assets during state-led land expropriation processes.

Earlier this month, Lê Văn Tiếp, chairman of Long Thành District People’s Committee, was also accused of misconduct concerning the compensation process.

"The investigation is ongoing and additional related individuals will be arrested if found guilty," according to the provincial police.

Officers have urged individuals involved in these irregularities to come forward and rectify any discrepancies to avoid legal repercussions. 

Those who fail to do so may face criminal charges for the misappropriation of state assets.

The airport project received approval from the Prime Minister in November 2018.

To build it, the site clearance requires over 5,000 hectares of land to be emptied, in addition to 364 hectares for building two resettlement sites for affected households.

Over 4,800 local households and 26 organisations are expected to be relocated to make way for the airport project.

Once fully completed, the airport is expected to handle 100 million passengers and five million tonnes of freight annually.

Covering 5,580 hectares, the airport will be located across six communes within Long Thành District in Đồng Nai Province.

The total investment for the airport amounts to VNĐ336.63 trillion ($14.47 billion), with construction divided into three phases.

In the initial phase, a runway and a passenger terminal, along with other supporting infrastructure, will be built at a cost of VNĐ109.112 trillion ($4.66 billion) to accommodate 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo annually.

Upon completion, the airport is poised to become a major international aviation hub for Việt Nam and the region, surpassing HCM City’s Tân Sơn Nhất airport as the largest in the country.

Vietnamese lawmakers have approved a revised plan for the airport, extending the completion deadline by one year to the end of 2026. — VNS