Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has urged faster progress on the construction of Long Thanh International Airport project and its key transport connections to ensure the facility can begin commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2026, according to a report from the Government News .
The request was made during his on-site inspection tour at the airport project on March 29, where he reviewed implementation progress and addressed existing bottlenecks in line with guidance from Party General Secretary To Lam.
All construction packages have now mobilized sufficient personnel, including managers, engineers, contractors, and supervision consultants. Nearly 9,000 workers are currently on site, supported by fully deployed machinery and equipment.
Component Project 3 — comprising 145 construction and consultancy packages — is being fast-tracked. So far, completed work is valued at around VND64.1 trillion (approximately $2.4 billion), equivalent to 74 percent of the total contract value, while disbursement has reached about VND40.7 trillion.
Contractors are adjusting timelines to reflect actual conditions, with the goal of completing construction by September and commencing commercial flights in the final quarter of this year.
The Prime Minister reaffirmed that Long Thanh International Airport is a nationally significant project approved by the National Assembly in 2015 and ratified by the Government in 2020. Although major construction only began in August 2023, a test flight was successfully conducted in September last year.
After more than two years of construction, several major components have been completed or are nearing completion, including the air traffic control tower, runway, and apron. The passenger terminal is in its final construction phase, while other systems — such as baggage handling, hangars, utilities, and internal transport infrastructure — are being rapidly installed.
He demanded strict handling of violations while protecting responsible individuals, and called on the Ministry of Public Security to expedite its review process to help resolve payment bottlenecks.
The Prime Minister also urged coordinated measures to support contractors facing rising input costs, while accelerating the completion of essential systems such as fuel supply, electricity, water, telecommunications, and operational facilities.
In addition, the PM called for faster progress on major transport links connecting the airport, including the Bien Hoa–Vung Tau, Ben Luc–Long Thanh, and Ho Chi Minh City–Long Thanh–Dau Giay expressways, as well as planned urban rail lines linking Suoi Tien, Bien Hoa, and Long Thanh. A 40-kilometer route connecting Tan Son Nhat International Airport with Long Thanh Airport is also expected to play a key role.
Finally, he stressed the need to ensure construction quality, technical standards, environmental sustainability, and safety, while preventing corruption and wastefulness. He also called for restructuring the organizational model of Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), establishing a dedicated task force to resolve project bottlenecks, and developing plans for non-aviation services and an airport city to support the broader aviation economy.
Long Thanh International Airport is a flagship infrastructure project in southern Vietnam, designed to become one of Southeast Asia’s major aviation hubs. Located in Dong Nai Province, about 40 kilometers east of Ho Chi Minh City, the airport is being developed to ease congestion at Tan Son Nhat International Airport and support the country’s growing demand for air travel and logistics. With a total investment of around $16 billion, the project is planned in three phases, eventually reaching a capacity of 100 million passengers and 5 million tons of cargo annually. Once completed, Long Thanh International Airport is expected to enhance regional connectivity, boost economic growth, and position Vietnam as a key transit and trade gateway in the Asia-Pacific region.
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