Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Gia Túc listens to a report on the progress of the Long Thành International Airport project. — Photo from the Việt Nam Government Portal

HCM CITY — Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Gia Túc on Saturday urged contractors and local authorities to accelerate work on the Long Thành International Airport project and the HCM City–Long Thành–Dầu Giây Expressway expansion to ensure both are completed on schedule this year.

During an inspection trip to key infrastructure projects in Đồng Nai Province and HCM City, the permanent deputy PM also reviewed progress on the first phase of Long Thành Airport, the expansion of the HCM City–Long Thành–Dầu Giây Expressway, and operations at the new Terminal T3 of Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport.

At the Long Thành Bridge construction site – considered a 'critical path' for the expressway expansion project – Túc was briefed by the Việt Nam Expressway Corporation (VEC), the project investor, on overall progress.

Stretching from HCM City’s Ring Road 2 interchange to the Biên Hoà–Vũng Tàu Expressway interchange in Đồng Nai, the 22-kilometre expressway section will be expanded to eight to 10 lanes at a total investment of nearly VNĐ15 trillion (nearly US$570 million).

The route is expected to play a vital role in connecting HCM City and Đồng Nai with the new Long Thành Airport and easing traffic congestion in the southern economic hub. Authorities aim to complete the project in the first quarter of 2027 in sync with the airport’s commercial launch. Current construction volume has reached about 54 per cent, meeting planned targets.

VEC said site clearance had reached around 95 per cent in HCM City and 90 per cent in Đồng Nai, and called on local authorities to hand over all remaining land before June. The corporation also urged timely adjustments to construction material and fuel prices to reflect market fluctuations.

Túc praised engineers and workers at the construction site, stressing that VEC would bear full responsibility for the project’s progress and quality. He instructed contractors to maximise manpower and equipment deployment during favourable weather conditions and prepare detailed weekly implementation plans tied to individual responsibilities.

The deputy PM also called on local authorities to speed up site clearance, secure construction material supplies, and ensure absolute safety standards at the construction site.

Afterwards, Túc inspected several major components of the Long Thành International Airport project, where the Government had been pushing to resolve bottlenecks and maintain momentum for the airport’s targeted commercial operation scheduled to begin later this year.

According to the Airports Corporation of Việt Nam (ACV), overall construction progress at the airport has reached around 76 per cent of contract value. State management facilities under component project 1 are largely complete, while air traffic management facilities under component project 2 have also finished construction and are awaiting utility connections.

Two major packages under component project 3 remain critical to the airport’s timeline: package 4.8 on internal transport infrastructure, which is 50 per cent complete and due for completion by September, and package 5.10, covering the heart of the project, the passenger terminal – which has only reached around 63 per cent completion despite a contractual deadline of June 2026.

ACV General Director Nguyễn Đức Hùng pledged that the airport’s technical tunnel system would be connected no later than June 10 to support completion of related infrastructure works.

Túc stressed that all airport components –including transport links, passenger and cargo terminals, technical systems and State agency offices – must be completed simultaneously to ensure smooth operations. 

“Even one unfinished component could affect the entire project’s operation,” he said.

He also instructed ACV to thoroughly test all installed equipment at the passenger terminal to prevent technical failures after operations begin and to coordinate closely among contractors during the final completion stage.

The inspection concluded at Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport’s Terminal T3, where Túc reviewed operations one year after the terminal entered service.

T3 now handles nearly 54 per cent of domestic passenger traffic and 56 per cent of domestic flights at the country's busiest air hub, operating at around 71 per cent of its designed annual capacity of 20 million passengers, according to report by the authorities.

Túc instructed ACV to fully resolve any remaining technical issues and ensure safe and uninterrupted operations while strengthening transport connectivity between the terminal and HCM City’s road network. — VNS