On 6 January 2021, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc presided over Long Thanh International Airport’s groundbreaking ceremony. Located about an hour and a half from Ho Chi Minh City, the new airport is crucial in improving Ho Chi Minh City’s airport capacity. According to the Airports Corporation of Vietnam, Long Thanh International Airport will be developed in three phases and is set to be completed in 2040, with a total investment of USD 16 billion.
According to the approved planning, the airport will cover a total area of 5,000 hectares. The site for airport infrastructure construction accounts for 2,750 hectares; 1,050 hectares used for national defense together with civil aviation infrastructure construction; and 1,200 hectares for auxiliary items, aviation industry, and other commercial works.
Phase 1 will see the development of a 4,000-meter runway in addition to aprons and taxiways, a passenger terminal with an annual capacity of 25 million people, and cargo terminals with an annual capacity of 1.2 million tonnes. The first phase is expected to be completed in 2025, with an investment of USD 4.7 billion.
Phase 2 will see the development of a second runway and terminal. This will bring total capacity to 75 million passengers and 2.7 million tonnes of cargo annually. Once fully constructed, Long Thanh International Airport will feature four runways, four terminals, and have a capacity of 100 million passengers and five million tonnes of cargo annually.
(Sources: ACV, Hanoi Times, AeroTime Hub)