The under-construction Long Thành International Airport. — VNA/VNS Photo

ĐỒNG NAI — The value of completed construction work of the Long Thành International Airport project to date has reached about 77.85 per cent of the total value of signed contracts, according to the Airports Corporation of Việt Nam (ACV).

The ACV, the primary investor in the project, said that for the main construction packages alone, the cumulative completed value is nearly 70 per cent of the contract value.

In terms of workforce, the site currently has about 7,170 direct workers on site.

According to ACV, one of the major difficulties at present is mobilising labour, with the whole project short of between 1,500 and 2,000 workers.

To ensure the schedule, ACV is pressing its contractors to call for additional manpower, aiming to reach 9,000 direct workers, including indirect staff, to accelerate internal works and complete documentation.

ACV also says the project is entering a critical construction phase, but the rainy season poses considerable challenges to progress and quality.

Statistics show that during the rainy season last year, construction was delayed by between two and four months due directly to weather, with particularly severe impacts on outdoor works.

To maintain construction progress and quality, ACV has instructed contractors to implement thorough measures, such as preparing a well-planned work schedule from the outset, clearly dividing construction stages, securing adequate materials, labour and finances appropriately and prioritising indoor works during periods of heavy rain.

It has also required the establishment of effective site drainage systems, such as digging drainage channels and collection pits, and deploying standby pumps in working areas.

In addition, ACV requests contractors to closely monitor weather developments and flexibly adjust work according to actual conditions, and to have contingency plans for potential incidents.

ACV says that rain will affect some outdoor construction activities, technical infrastructure, transport of materials and equipment and on-site organisation.

In response, ACV, together with the Project Management Board, contractors, supervising consultants and related parties, has developed response plans and adjusted construction schedules according to actual weather conditions.

Alongside arranging manpower, equipment and materials, these parties are also strengthening occupational safety control, maintaining uninterrupted construction where possible and minimising adverse weather impacts.

Long Thành International Airport covers an area of 5,000ha and is located in Long Thành Commune, Đồng Nai City. It is a national key project whose investment policy was approved by the National Assembly in June 2015, with a capacity of 100 million passengers and five million tonnes of cargo per year, to be delivered in three phases.

In phase one, the project will build an air traffic control station, one runway (4,000m x 75m), one passenger terminal with a capacity of 25 million passengers per year and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo per year, together with auxiliary works; the total investment is more than VNĐ99 trillion (US$3.7 billion).

During construction, ACV proposed and obtained central government approval to build a second runway. Work on the second runway is now being accelerated so it can enter service with phase one, which is scheduled to commence operations at the end of this year. — VNS