Proposal for two airports to service HCM City

HCM Citys municipal authorities have proposed to keepTan Son Nhat International Airport operational even after the new Long Thanh International Airport is up and running in 2020.

The municipal Peoples Committee has submitted to the Ministry of Construction a request to keep Tan Son Nhat Airport operational for the citys development even after Long Thanh International Airport becomes operational.

The committee said Tan Son Nhat International Airport has a strategic location and plays an important role in the socio-economic development of the city and the region.

It has mobilised resources to build transport infrastructure that links to the airport, including Nguyen Van Troi-Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, Tan Son Nhat - Binh Loi-ringbelt road and urban railway routes No 2, 4 and 5.

The committee has also proposed to build transport routes that connect to the southern Dong Nai Province-based airport, including the Thu Thiem-Long Thanh railway, the HCM City-Long Thanh - Dau Giay Highway, the Ben Luc - Long Thanh Highway and the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Highway.

The US$6 billion project invested by the Southern Airports Corporation was approved in 2005 by the Prime Minister. The airport is about 40 kilometres away from HCM Citys centre, 43 kilometres east of the Tan Son Nhat International Airport and 48 kilometres from Vung Tau City.

Long Thanh International Airport will become one of the biggest transit airports in the region with a designed capacity of handling 100 million passengers and 5 million tonnes of cargo every year. The airport will receive 90 per cent of international flights and 20 per cent of local flights to and from HCM City. The project was expected to begin in 2018.

Construction of Long Thanh International Airport in Dong Nai will be divided into two phases. Phase one will be completed in 2020 and phase two by 2035.

Two major works under the first phase of the project, the runway and the terminals, will be built with $1.277 billion and $1.4 billion, respectively. In the first phase (2020-30), the airport aims to serve 44.5 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo.

(Source: VNS)