Investment capital for the first phase of the construction of Long Thanh International Airport in the southern province of Dong Nai was high compared to other international airports, said the State Appraisal Council.

A 3D mock-up of Long Thanh International Airport

According to the council, the project has an investment rate of more than US$4.66 billion to serve 25 million passengers in phase 1. 

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said total investment for Vietnam’s largest airport construction project was made in accordance with the provisions of Decree 68 on construction cost management.

Dung said the total investment of the airport had been verified and determined in accordance with regulations, adding the investment rate was evaluated in comparison with airport international investment in the world and ensured not to exceed the total investment directed by the National Assembly (NA).

Previously, the NA’s Resolution 94/2015/QH13 approved the investment policy of Long Thanh international airport with the serving capacity of 100 million passengers and five million tonnes of freight annually at the investment of VND336.63 trillion (US$14.51 billion) for three phases. In which, phase 1 with a capacity of 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo per year will have a total investment of VND114.45 trillion (US$4.9 billion).

The council noted that after the project of the first phase is approved by the Prime Minister, the MoT and the investors of the component projects must be responsible for reviewing, updating and determining the specific cost and total cost and to ensure the investment is efficient.

Earlier, the Ministry of Transport (MoT) found the investment rate of about US$15 billion per 100 million passengers of Long Thanh airport was equivalent to the investment rate of other major airports across the world.

The MoT said the first phase of Daxing International Airport in Beijing, China phase 1, which ran since last year, has a total investment of about US$11.7 billion for a capacity of 72 million passengers or about US$16.26 billion per 100 million passengers per year.

Istanbul Airport in Turkey was built in 2015 with a capacity of 90 million passengers per year with a total investment of about US$12 billion or US$13.33 billion for 100 million passengers, said the report.

It also said with the inflation rate of 2% per year according to the research of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the investment cost of Istanbul Airport in 2019 was US$14.93 billion.

Regarding the progress of the project of the airport, on November 2, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The said: “As of the plan, they will start building the fence of the airport at the end of December 2020 and will start levelling the first quarter of 2021.”

The said they would try to complete phase 1 of the project by 2025 as planned.

Tan Son Nhat international airport in HCM City, the country’s largest, is reported to be overloaded. The ministry said the new airport in Dong Nai near the city should become an aviation hub for Southeast Asia.