Dong Nai Province is seeking Government approval to carry out site clearance and resettlement plans for Long Thanh international airport as soon as possible so that work can commence in 2019 as scheduled.
Dong Nai Province is seeking Government approval to carry out site clearance and resettlement plans for Long Thanh international airport as soon as possible so that work can commence in 2019 as scheduled.
The Ministry of Transport has recently set up a steering committee for implementing the airport project in Long Thanh District in the southern province of Dong Nai. Meanwhile, Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) is making preparations for organizing an international competitive tender to pick a consultant for conducting a feasibility study.
ACV, the investor of the project, reckoned that it would take 15 months to select a consultant and complete the feasibility study from the time the project won approval from the National Assembly in June this year.
The corporation expects the feasibility study could be completed in 2018 so that the project will be able to get off the ground in 2019.
Therefore, Dong Nai Province said site clearance should be done early to pave the way for the project to start in 2019.
A source told the Daily that at a meeting between leaders of Dong Nai Province and relevant agencies last week, the total cost for site clearance had been revised down to VND13.1 trillion (US$587.93 million) from the previously estimated VND20.7 trillion (US$929.02 million).
Around 5,000 hectares in Long Thanh District will be cleared to make room for the project. The area consists of 2,000 hectares in Binh Son Commune, 1,359 hectares in Suoi Trau Commune, 508 hectares in Cam Duong Commune, 158 hectares in Bau Can Commune, 659 hectares in Long An Commune, and 317 hectares in Long Phuoc Commune. Around 4,730 households with nearly 15,000 inhabitants will be affected.
The source said the compensation plan for the airport project is planned to be carried out in two phases. Particularly, 2,558 hectares of land from 1,808 households will be taken back initially at a total cost of over VND5 trillion (US$224.4 million). Later, the remaining 2,442 hectares from 2,922 households will be withdrawn at a cost of nearly VND8.1 trillion (US$363.53 million).
Dong Nai Province has proposed the Prime Minister allow separating the compensation and site clearance part from the airport project and advance capital for site clearance to ensure the airport will be able to get underway from early 2019 as planned.
The province feared that site clearance would not be completed before work starts on the project if it is done after the legislature approves the feasibility study.
Long Thanh airport project has a total investment cost of more than US$16 billion including over US$5.4 billion for the first phase. Phase one of the airport is expected to come online in 2023 and have one runway and one terminal able to serve 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tons of cargo a year.
(Source:SGT)
