Construction of Long Thanh Airport in Dong Nai Province began in 2021 on a site spanning more than 5,000 hectares. It is set to cost nearly VND337 trillion (US$13 billion) and scheduled to begin commercial operation by the end of the year, but labor shortages could stymie that.
On May 14, despite entering the final phase, the construction site was far less animated than during its peak construction period last year, when heavy machinery and dense dust clouds filled the area.
On the terminal's ground floor, the baggage conveyor systems have mostly been installed.
Vu Pham Nguyen An, director of the state-owned Airports Corporation of Vietnam's Long Thanh Airport project management board, said 95% of all imported equipment has arrived at the site, and 80% has been installed.
The project is “on schedule,” he claimed.
Construction crews are currently working on the decorative ceiling panels in the terminal’s central area. The number of cranes and other construction machinery has also declined, partly due to rising fuel costs, contractors said.
According to the ACV, around 3,000 engineers and workers are currently working at the terminal, only about 60% of requirement.
Outside the terminal, taxiways and parking aprons are largely finished after the intense activity seen at the end of 2025 when around 8,000 workers were on-site.
The air traffic control tower has largely been completed. Late last year, the tower’s technical systems were installed and put into use to enable test landings.
Vietjet’s aircraft maintenance facility under Component Project 4 is currently been installed with technical equipment, with completion expected later this year. Nearby maintenance hangars belonging to Vietnam Airlines also appeared sparsely staffed.
At the elevated roadway connecting T1 Road with the departure terminal, workers are still constructing support columns and beams.
The ACV said labor shortages are affecting not only work on the passenger terminal but also other infrastructure and transport connectivity projects.
The contractors currently require around 1,900 workers for infrastructure works but can get only 1,200.
Component Project 3, which includes construction of runways, taxiways, and aprons, requires 14,000 workers, but only around 8,000 are currently employed.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung instructed the ACV and other related agencies to quickly resolve bottlenecks and ensure Long Thanh Airport begins commercial operations in 2026, calling it a “mandatory mission.”
