Construction of the third passenger terminal at Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport in HCM City. — VNA/VNS Photo Tiến Lực

HCM CITY — Construction of the third passenger terminal at HCM City’s Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport is around 50 per cent complete.

Work began in late 2022 and was expected to take 24 months.

Lê Khắc Hồng, head of the project management board, said to ensure the work remains on schedule the contractors have been asked to mobilise more than 1,400 workers, 200 engineers,16 tower cranes, and 350 vehicles and equipment.

The construction site has been subdivided into smaller zones and the work is being done in two shifts a day.

Some 60-70 per cent of the workers will remain at their job during the upcoming Tết (Lunar New Year) holidays.

After Tết, their number will increase to 2,000.

Hồng said the cramped construction site is causing difficulties, including for the transport of materials. Dump trucks could only access it at night, affecting progress, he said.

By May 15, all the floors would be finished and assembly of the steel frame and roof would commence, he added.

The State-owned Airports Corporation of Việt Nam is carrying out the work at a cost of nearly VNĐ11 trillion (US$463.2 million).

T3 is designed with one basement and four levels above ground, with a total floor area of 112,500sq.m.

It will have a linear layout similar to the existing one, with separate departure and arrival areas, 90 check-in counters, 20 automated bag-drop counters, 42 self-service check-in kiosks, 27 boarding gates, and 16 baggage belts.

It will have a dedicated area for VIP, business class and other priority passengers.

Its 130,000sq.m high-rise garage and non-aeronautical services complex will have six floors, including two basements, with a three-storey motorbike parking lot.

Once completed, T3 will handle domestic flights, 7,000 passengers simultaneously during peak hours and 20 million annually.

It will help ease pressure on the overloaded T1 terminal.

T2 is the international terminal.

The number of passengers using the airport has surged in recent years, reaching nearly double its designed capacity. — VNS