Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính (middle) and other delegates at the ceremony. — VNA/VNS Photo

ĐỒNG NAI — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính on August 31 attended the ground-breaking ceremony of three main bidding packages of Long Thành International Airport project in the southern province of Đồng Nai, and Terminal 3 of Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport in HCM City, with total investment of about VNĐ52 trillion (US$2.15 billion).

In his remarks at the ceremony in Đồng Nai province, the PM stressed that infrastructure development, especially transport infrastructure, is one of the three strategic breakthroughs set by the Party and the State.

He said that Việt Nam’s aviation infrastructure has been upgraded and expanded. However, it has yet to catch up with the development of the country and the world as well, with overloads seen at many airports, especially Tân Sơn Nhất.

The first phase of the Long Thành International Airport and Terminal 3 of the Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport play a crucial role in the national network of international airports, as well as in national defence and security, and socio-economic development in the Southern Key Economic Zone in particular and the country in general, the PM stressed.

Once completed, they are expected to contribute to turning Việt Nam into a major transport centre of the region and the world, and raising national competitiveness, he noted.

The PM asked the Ministries of Transport, Construction, Natural Resources and Environment, and National Defence, and the Committee for Management of State Capital at Enterprises, the People’s Committees of HCM City and Đồng Nai Province, and other relevant ministries and agencies to step up their supervisions and inspections, quickly remove roadblocks to the implementation of the projects, and ensure their quality, safety, efficiency and progress.

Notably, the People’s Committees of HCM City and Đồng Nai Province need to speed up other transport projects linked to airport terminals to ensure infrastructure harmony and efficiency, he stressed.

Corruption, wastefulness and other negative phenomena must be prevented, and legal rights and interests of people must be guaranteed, PM Chính said.

The above-said bidding packages include the construction and installation of equipment at terminals, runways, taxiways and aircraft aprons of the Long Thành International Airport, and at Terminal 3 of the Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport.

Covering a total area of more than 5,580 hectares, the Long Thành airport will spread across six communes in Long Thành district of Đồng Nai Province. The airport’s total investment is 336.63 trillion VND, with construction divided into three phases.

In the first phase, a runway and one passenger terminal along with other supporting facilities will be built at a cost of VNĐ109.1 trillion to serve 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo each year.

Once fully completed by 2050, the airport will be able to handle 100 million passengers and 5 million tonnes of cargo annually.

Located 40km east of HCM City, the airport is expected to relieve overloading at the Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport, now the country’s largest airport.

Terminal 3 of the Tân Sơn Nhất Airport is estimated to cost nearly VNĐ11 trillion. It is expected to become operational in the second quarter of 2025, handling domestic flights and up to 20 million passengers annually.

The number of passengers going through the Tân Sơn Nhất Airport has surged in recent years to nearly double its designed capacity. The airport was designed to handle 25 million passengers a year by 2020, but it has been receiving almost 40 million a year since 2017.

The airport has two terminals now, with T1 serving domestic flights and T2 handling international flights. T1 can serve up to 15 million passengers a year and T2, 10 million. — VNS