Long Thanh airport construction ahead of schedule

Contractors have completed the foundation and cover the runway with a concrete layer.

The cement concrete surface has also been test-paved since the beginning of last month, closely following the planned schedule, Duong Quang Dien, the Acting Deputy Director of the Long Thanh Project Management Board, said Thursday.

It is projected that the runway will be ready for technical operation before May 30 next year.

The contractors are using 1,700 personnel and 350 pieces of equipment for the runway.

From now until April next year, the work will primarily focus on concrete paving, drainage systems, and lighting.

The airport terminal, considered the heart of Long Thanh International Airport project, is also ahead of schedule by around 10 days.

Nearly 3,300 engineers and workers and more than 1,100 pieces of equipment are mobilized to finish the terminal.

After more than nine months of construction, the passenger terminal has completed all reinforced concrete columns and beams for the first-floor slab.

A representative from the state-owned Airports Corporation of Vietnam, the airport’s investor, said by the end of June, all second-floor beams and slabs will be completed, and by the end of July, 100% of the third-floor beams and slabs will be finished.

Evren Isit Bingol, Chief Commander of the Vietur contractor consortium, said that it was the rainy season in southern Vietnam and the contractor had faced some difficulties but still strove to accelerate construction progress as this is a national key project.

The Long Thanh International Airport project, spanning 5,000 hectares, has a total estimated investment of about US$13.28 billion. It will replace HCMC’s Tan Son Nhat as Vietnam’s biggest airport once completed.

Set to be completed next year and enter operation in 2026, the airport’s first phase is being built with one runway, a terminal, and several ancillary facilities, aiming for a capacity of 25 million passengers per year.