Vietnam's largest airport construction project in overdrive

Thousands of workers are progressing at the Long Thanh Airport construction project in the southern province of Dong Nai.

The construction site was recently floodlit for the workers and engineers to work through the night.

Two packages are underway including the construction of a passenger terminal, and a runway, taxiway, and stand.

According to the deputy head of the Long Thanh Airport Project Management Board, Duong Quang Dien, construction of these two component packages started four months ago and is currently on schedule. "Nearly 4,000 workers, including both Vietnamese and international engineers and nearly 2,000 machines and equipment are working round the clock on the project," Dien said.

On the evening of January 18, workers cast concrete on the first runway which is 4,000 metres long and 45 metres wide. This VND8.10 trillion (USD330 million) package is the second largest component of the airport project.

The passenger terminal is being carried out by Vietur, a consortium of ten major domestic and foreign construction groups led by a Turkish company.

A representative from Vietur, Evren Isit Bingol, disclosed that they were intensifying work at their package with 2,000 engineers and workers and hundreds of machines. "We're working day and night and meeting investor milestones on the construction progress," he said.

Airports Corporation of Vietnam, the project's investor, has directed contractors to take advantage of the favourable weather during the six-month dry season to intensify construction work on the Long Thanh airport project.

The project construction is divided into three stages from 2021-2040 and the government has targeted to operate the first flights at Long Thanh in 2026.

Long Thanh International Airport would be Vietnam's largest airport with an area of 5,364 hectares. With a total investment of some USD16 billion, the airport is expected to serve up to 100 million passengers and five million tonnes of cargo per year.