Hire foreign experts to appraise Long Thanh Airport, ministry suggests

By Doan Loan   March 6, 2019 | 11:59 pm PT
Hire foreign experts to appraise Long Thanh Airport, ministry suggests
An artist impression of the Long Thanh International Airport in Dong Nai Province, Vietnam. Photo by Airports Corporation of Vietnam
An appraisal council with foreign experts has been mooted for a feasibility study of the Long Thanh International Airport.

A proposal to this effect has been made by the Ministry of Planning and Investment to the Prime Minister.

The ministry says that the scale and complexity of the project makes it prudent that foreign consultants are involved, because it would make up for the lack of local experience in handling such a task.

An independent consultant or consultants should be hired immediately so as to meet the deadline for submitting the feasibility report to the National Assembly in October 2019, the proposal says.

The ministry’s proposal also includes an Appraisal Committee chaired by the Minister of Planning and Investment with members from 13 relevant ministries and government agencies.

In mid-2018, The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), which operates 21 airports in the country, had proposed that it contributes more than a quarter of the $5.4 billion needed to build the new Long Thanh International Airport, becoming its main investor.

ACV signed a contract with JFV, a consortium of consultants comprising of three Japanese, one French and two Vietnamese companies, to complete a feasibility report for phase one of the airport’s construction by June.

Currently, the consultant has completed the concept design for the work, and is scheduled to complete basic designs by April 2019 for the Ministry of Transport to send to the State Appraisal Council.

The Long Thanh International Airport, with total investment capital estimated at VND336.63 trillion ($16.03 billion), is to be built in three phases over three decades, becoming Vietnam’s largest airport.

The first part is scheduled for completion in 2025, when the new airport will be able to handle 25 million passengers a year. The next two phases will run from 2030 to 2035 and from 2040 to 2050.

Experts have previously warned that the construction cost of the airport could double every five years.

Lying 40 kilometers east of HCMC, the airport is expected to take up the overflow from the largest existing airport in the country, Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

Once completed, Long Thanh International Airport will have an annual capacity of 100 million passengers and five million tons of cargo.

 
 
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