Once operational, it will be the country’s largest domestic terminal, one that will increase Tan Son Nhat's total capacity to 50 million passengers annually.
Le Khac Hong, head of the Terminal 3 project management board, said basic structural work has been completed for all components of the terminal, and teams are speeding up the architectural and construction work that remains.
The most crucial part, the 7,500-ton steel roof structure, was completed earlier this month after 120 days of accelerated work. The first layer of the aluminum roof, measuring over 42,000 square meters, has also been completed.
Terminal 3 will consist of one basement and four floors with a total floor area of 112,500 sq.m. The work includes four main components: the passenger terminal, a multi-level parking lot, an elevated road in front of the terminal, and an aircraft apron.
T3 is budgeted to cost nearly VND11 trillion (US$432 million), and is funded by the state-owned Airports Corporation of Vietnam.
The contractor for the work is a consortium consisting of the Hanoi Construction Corporation, Construction Corporation No.1, the Ministry of National Defense’s 319 Corporation, the army’s Truong Son Construction, Ricons Construction Investment, and Luu Nguyen Construction.
The rough construction is finished inside, with the steel framework and roof in place. Contractors are working on the ceilings, glass walls and laying the floors with stone.
A year after the construction began, the waiting areas, security checkpoints and check-in counters are also nearing completion.
Six out of 39 proposed elevators and 16 out of 55 escalators have been installed, with completion expected by December. The apron was completed two months ago and is undergoing assessment.
Other areas of Terminal 3 are also taking shape. The terminal will have 90 traditional check-in counters, 20 self-baggage drop counters, 42 self-check-in kiosks, and 27 boarding gates (13 with jet bridges and 14 accessible by bus).
It will have six baggage handling islands for departures and 10 baggage belts for arrivals, and 25 security checkpoints.
More than 2,000 engineers and workers are at work in an effort to expedite completion.
"This project is important for the city, and so everyone is working hard to ensure the terminal is completed on time," 43-year-old Ha Van Thanh (C), said.
A commercial and office complex is also coming up. The green structure will integrate natural elements and landscapes to be environment-friendly.
The elevated road at the terminal is under construction, and is expected to be completed by February next year.
Equipment and machinery to be installed at the terminal are being imported based on the timeline of each component. Major items like air-conditioning ducts, fire protection systems and water supply and drainage systems are more than 90% installed in the B2 floor of the commercial building and on the B1 and ground floors of the terminal.
Terminal 3 will also serve domestic flights to help reduce the load on Terminal 1. Terminal 2 will continue to serve international flights.
A rendering of Tan Son Nhat Airport’s Terminal 3. Its design is inspired by the ao dai, a traditional cultural symbol of Vietnam.
Photo by Airports Corporation of Vietnam
This is how Tan Son Nhat's new terminal will look like.
Video by VnExpress/Tuan Viet, Do Nam
