1,000 join forces to level ground for Vietnam's biggest airport to-be

The construction of Long Thanh airport in Dong Nai Province that borders Ho Chi Minh City has entered the ground leveling and fencing stage. Invested by the Airports Corporation of Vietnam, this stage will also build passenger and cargo terminals, garage, and traffic infrastructure.

"With the current process, we will be able to hand over the clear site to build the passenger terminal next month as scheduled," said Nguyen Khac Phong, deputy director of the project management board.

The land designated for the airport consists of mainly red basalt soil.

Le Xuan Thuy, 51, guides rollers and dumpers to the dump sites.
"The entire construction site is covered in dust, therefore everyone must wear protection, including masks and glasses."

A truck sprays water to decrease the volume of dust in the air and at the same time, create conditions for rollers to compress the ground.

A roller driver drinks some water during his break.

Specialized vehicles at the dumping site.
Work on Long Thanh airport, which will replace HCMC’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport as Vietnam’s biggest once completed, began on Jan. 5 last year after many years of preparations and lengthy land acquisitions. In February, a year after work began, only fencing and demining had been done, causing Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to complain over the progress.
However, until now, Dong Nai Province has yet to hand over enough cleared land designated for the project.

Workers take measurements and set landmarks for construction.
"Despite the pressure of boosting progress, we will still adhere to all technical standards to ensure quality," said engineer Tran Van Cuong.
In January, Lai Xuan Thanh, chairman of the ACV, had claimed the corporation would build the airport six months earlier than originally scheduled, that almost all the land needed for it had been received and construction was on schedule. The original deadline is December 2025.

A road that runs across the project was shut to traffic on Tuesday.

Residents in Binh Son Commune of Long Thanh District will be relocated for the project.
At a meeting with the Ministry of Transport on Tuesday, Dong Nai authorities stated that 300 more hectares (740 acres) of clear land will be handed over within this week.

To serve the Long Thanh airport project, Dong Nai has built a resettlement area spreading 280 hectares around seven kilometers from the project to relocate more than 5,000 families that had given up land for the project.
Some families have already built houses and moved in.

An artist’s impression of the Long Thanh airport, which is estimated to cost $16 billion in total, will have an annual capacity of 100 million passengers and five million tons of cargo. Photo by ACV