A five-star Long Thanh airport cannot be managed and operated by a one-star staff

On September 7, after conducting an on-site inspection of the ongoing construction works, Politburo Member and Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha chaired a working session with relevant agencies to review the progress of Phase 1 of the Long Thanh International Airport Project.

Also attending the meeting was Ho Van Ha, Member of the Provincial Party Committee and Vice Chairman of the Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha is speaking at the working session. Photo: Pham Tung

According to Nguyen Tien Viet, Deputy General Director of Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), the investor in Component Project 3, construction has been heavily impacted over the last three months by adverse weather as the rainy season arrived about a month earlier than expected, with August 2025 experiencing almost 20 days of heavy rain in a row. This disruption mainly affected underground works such as tunnels, drainage systems, and roadbeds.

Anticipating unfavorable conditions, ACV directed contractor consortia to revise their construction plans and methods to stay on track and make up for delays. Despite these issues, 12 out of 15 construction packages are currently progressing and are largely on schedule. The total value of work completed under Component Project 3 has surpassed 44 trillion VND, which is over 55% of the total contract value.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha is inspecting the construction progress at Long Thanh airport terminal. Photo: Pham Tung

Currently, the contractor consortium has mobilized approximately 14,000 personnel, including experts, engineers, and workers, alongside 3,000 pieces of equipment, and organized hundreds of active work fronts. The project aims for basic completion by the end of 2025 and commercial operation in the first half of 2026.

Vice Chairman Ho Van Ha reported that Dong Nai province had allocated essential construction materials, including stone, to meet the project’s demands. The province is also expediting infrastructure projects assigned by the government, speeding up land clearance and coordinating with related units to complete transport links to Long Thanh airport, as directed by the Prime Minister.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha delivers closing remarks at the meeting. Photo: Pham Tung

In his concluding remarks, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha affirmed that all institutional, policy, and land-related bottlenecks in the construction site have been resolved. As such, the target of basically completing the project by December 19, 2025, as ordered by the Prime Minister, remains unchanged. He emphasized: "Any unit causing delays, even by a single day, will be held accountable before the Government and the Prime Minister."

The Deputy Prime Minister underscored the need for synchronous completion of all project components to ensure operational readiness by mid-2026. He tasked the Ministry of Construction, ACV, and Dong Nai province with reviewing all subprojects and strictly adhering to the construction schedule, while ensuring quality of the project.

“The Long Thanh airport project must be executed rapidly but not recklessly. Quality must never be compromised,” stressed Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha.

Ho Van Ha, Vice Chairman of Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee, speaks at the session. Photo: Pham Tung

To ensure smooth operational readiness, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha also requested ACV to work closely with competent authorities to prepare the airport management and operations team thoroughly.

“Long Thanh airport is designed to be a five-star international transit hub, thus its management and operations staff cannot be rated at one-star level, but must meet 5-star standards too.” Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha emphasized.

The Deputy Prime Minister also requested ACV to review, compile a list and propose forms of commendation for units and individuals that have made significant efforts throughout the construction process to ensure the project stays on schedule.

By: Pham Tung
Translated by: Hong Van - Thu Ha