The curved roof of the T3 Terminal of Tân Sơn Nhất Airport in HCM City. — Photo from the Airports Corporation of Việt Nam

HÀ NỘI — A design inspired by the Áo dài (traditional Vietnamese gown) – one of the country's most recognised cultural symbols – has been selected for Terminal 3 of Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport in HCM City.

The State-run Airports Corporation of Việt Nam (ACV) – the primary investor of the project – has recently completed and approved the terminal's design and organised bidding to select contractors to start construction in the third quarter of this year.

According to the investor, T3 will have a soft curved roof stretching from the terminal to the garden at the centre of the commercial-office complex, reminiscent of the flap of the Vietnamese Áo dài

The terminal architecture meets international airport standards and regulations on safety, flexibility, security, and service quality.

According to the ACV, it will ensure convenient transportation for passengers and their access to many amenities and shopping facilities.

Recently, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính ordered the construction of T3 to be started in the third quarter of 2022 and to be put into use in September 2024 amid increasing complaints of overcapacity at the largest airport in the country.

PM Chính also asked the Ministry of National Defence to work with relevant parties to hand over 16.05ha of land under its management for the terminal project and another 11.89ha for the building of a road linking nearby Trần Quốc Hoàn and Cộng Hoà streets in Tân Bình District.

The project was approved by the Government in 2020 at a cost of VNĐ10.99 trillion (US$470.5 million), using the Airports Corporation of Vietnam's (ACV) budget. Construction is expected to take 37 months.

It will be able to serve up to 20 million passengers annually, according to the Prime Minister's Decision 657/QĐ-TTg from May 2020, which gave the green light to the project.

The new facility will improve service quality and handle domestic flights, helping to ease pressure on T1, which is currently overloaded.

The T3 project is under the supervision of the State steering committee for nationally important projects.

The projects must be carried out safely without corruption or losses. Ministries, sectors and agencies must complete procedures within their competence as soon as possible. — VNS