HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc urged Đồng Nai Province to make every effort to quickly complete site clearance covering 5,000ha for the construction of Long Thành International Airport, during a teleconference with the southern province’s leaders on Wednesday. 

He emphasised the work was an important political mission for Đồng Nai's authorities and would contribute to building a giant construction project of national importance.

The goal was to wrap up site clearance as early as possible so the airport would be completed by 2025 or earlier, as set by the National Assembly, he said.

He said the implementation of the work had been slow, and requested local authorities to focus on the task.

According to a report from the province, only VNĐ1.7 trillion out of a total of VNĐ17 trillion (US$723.6 million) allocated for the task had been disbursed so far.

He said the National Assembly and the Government were paying particular attention to progress at the airport, so Đồng Nai needed to fully implement resettlement issues for people and businesses affected by the project.

The PM asked the province to quickly complete the construction of resettlement areas.

He also requested ministries and departments to coordinate with Đồng Nai to speed up site clearance, particularly the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Ministry of Finance.

Đồng Nai has so far completed 99 per cent of site clearance at resettlement sites.

It’s expected that more than 1,000 households in Đồng Nai will have to relocate and the province will make a decision on the compensation owed to them in the second quarter of this year. — VNS