The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), the investor of the Long Thanh International Airport project in Dong Nai Province, a neighbor of Ho Chi Minh City, has proposed building a second runway for the airport and leveling the site for the T3 terminal in the first phase instead of the second phase as earlier planned.

According to the ACV, the first phase of the big-ticket airport project is underway and is expected to be completed in 2026 with a runway, a passenger terminal, and auxiliary items, meeting the capacity of 25 million passengers and 1.2 million metric tons of cargo per year.

In its first phase, Long Thanh International Airport will have a capacity comparable to that of Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Da Nang International Airport in Da Nang, and Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, each of which currently operates with two runways.

The two runways at Long Thanh International Airport will ensure uninterrupted operations in the event of incidents or maintenance needs for one of the runways.

The ACV stressed the importance of constructing the second runway to accommodate growing airport demand and ensure safety.

Building the second runway promptly will be advantageous, as contractors can utilize the facilities established during the first phase, and the construction will not disrupt airport operations.

The ACV suggested building the second runway spanning 4,000 meters parallel with the first one.

The runway, together with taxiways and signal lights, will cost an estimated VND3.5 trillion (US$140 million), which will be mobilized by the ACV.

The second runway will be developed inside the 1,810-hectare cleared and leveled land for the first phase of the airport project.

If the second runway for Long Thanh International Airport is approved, it will be constructed between the second quarter of next year and the last quarter of 2026 and put into operation in early 2027.

Once completed, it will serve landings, while the first runway will serve take-offs.

The leveling of the site for the T3 terminal at the airport is also crucial, according to the ACV.

It explained that dust from the construction of the second runway and the leveling of the site for Terminal T3 could impact airport operations.

The ACV proposed clearing 181 hectares for the terminal, with an estimated cost of nearly VND2 trillion ($80.4 million) to be funded through public investment.

The first phase of the Long Thanh International Airport project is budgeted at VND110 trillion ($4.4 billion).

The entire airport development, spanning 5,000 hectares, is projected to require a total investment of VND336.63 trillion ($13.5 billion).

Upon completion, Long Thanh International Airport will become the largest in Vietnam, with an annual capacity of 100 million passengers and five million metric tons of cargo.

The project was originally scheduled to be executed in three phases, with the first slated to last from 2020 to 2025 as stated in the prime minister’s decision to approve the project.

However, the first phase may not be completed until 2026.

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