Deputy Director General Dinh Ngoc Thang surveys the land for the construction of the customs headquarters at Long Thanh International Airport. Photo: N.H

All stages must be accelerated

According to the representative of the Department of Finance and Administration (General Department of Customs), the project of the Customs headquarters at Long Thanh International Airport was approved in principle for investment in Decision 2388/QD-BTC dated November 17, 2022 and approved by the General Department of Customs in Decision 1250/QD-TCHQ dated May 27, 2024.

After the budget capital plan for the project was approved on September 14, 2024, the Department of Finance and Administration has started implementing the bidding packages. The bidding packages for geological survey drilling; consulting on supervision and appraisal of survey drilling plans (construction drawing design document preparation stage) have been completed and the bidding packages for consulting on construction drawing design and cost estimates are being implemented; consulting on appraisal of construction drawing design and cost estimates; consulting on appraisal of construction equipment prices.

Currently, the implementation time is very urgent, Ms. Tran Thi Minh Hue, Deputy Director of the Department of Finance and Administration (General Department of Customs) requested Dong Nai Customs Department to support working with Dong Nai Provincial Police in the work of fire prevention and fighting appraisal and Dong Nai Provincial Department of Construction to appraise the project construction documents. After completing these steps, the design and estimate will be established and the contractor will be selected.

At a recent working session with Dong Nai Customs Department, Deputy Director General of the General Department of Customs Dinh Ngoc Thang said that according to the original plan, Long Thanh airport will be put into operation at the end of 2026, so the plan to start construction of the Customs headquarters in March 2025 and put into operation in August 2026 is appropriate. However, the project is currently being directed to speed up the progress so that it can be put into operation in early 2026.

Thus, the plan to build the customs headquarters also needs to be accelerated. “The wish of the General Department of Customs is that the contractor selection will be completed by December 20, 2024 and construction will start in January 2025. After that, the construction progress also needs to be accelerated to be completed in March-April 2026,” emphasized Deputy Director General Dinh Ngoc Thang.

To ensure timely implementation of the operation progress of Long Thanh airport, Deputy Director General Dinh Ngoc Thang advised the Director General of the General Department of Customs to establish 3 teams: the team implementing the infrastructure construction project led by Deputy Director General Luu Manh Tuong; the team implementing the organizational apparatus led by Deputy Director General Dinh Ngoc Thang and the operation team led by Deputy Director General Au Anh Tuan.

Currently, units must report weekly to the leaders of the General Department of Customs on the progress of the construction of the customs headquarters at Long Thanh International Airport to promptly resolve any difficulties or problems that may arise.

Close coordination with units

Director of Dong Nai Customs Department Le Van Thung affirmed that he will actively coordinate with units such as the Provincial Police and the Department of Construction of Dong Nai province to bring about the fastest results, contributing to speeding up the progress of project commencement and construction.

According to Mr. Thung, in the past time, Dong Nai Customs Department has proactively implemented and actively coordinated with departments and bureaus under the General Department of Customs, with the Specialized Construction Investment Project Management Board of the General Department of Customs to carry out related work to prepare for the smooth implementation of Customs organization at Long Thanh International Airport.

Specifically, since the beginning of 2024, Dong Nai Customs Department has established a Team to deploy the construction of Customs organization at Long Thanh International Airport; assigning specific tasks to each member of the Working Group.

On that basis, the Working Group regularly proactively contacts and works with Long Thanh International Airport Project Management Board - Vietnam Airports Corporation (ACV) to grasp the situation, progress and implementation plan of Long Thanh International Airport Project as well as the Customs Headquarters Project at Long Thanh International Airport, and coordinates with the General Department of Customs to carry out related tasks.

Dong Nai Customs Department has also been actively coordinating with the Specialized Construction Investment Project Management Board of the General Department of Customs to carry out related tasks on the construction of the Customs headquarters at Long Thanh International Airport, focusing on working, researching and giving opinions to complete the design of construction drawings, giving opinions on equipment needs for the Project Management Board to carry out the next steps to ensure the overall progress of the project.

The Director of Dong Nai Customs Department also emphasized that the implementation of work at Long Thanh airport is an important task for Dong Nai Customs Department. Therefore, the unit hopes to receive the attention, support and direction of the leaders of the General Department of Customs as well as the departments and bureaus so that the unit can best absorb and effectively implement the assigned tasks.

The Customs headquarters project at Long Thanh International Airport belongs to component project 1 of Long Thanh International Airport construction investment project. The project is invested by the General Department of Customs with a total estimated investment capital of over 337 billion VND, from the state budget with an area of ​​20,500 m2. The project includes functional areas: office building area, on-duty rest area, service dog breeding area, phase 2 reserve land, and auxiliary area. After completion, the project will be assigned to Dong Nai Customs Department for management and use. Specifically, the Customs organization model at Long Thanh International Airport in phase 1 (from 2025 to 2050) will include two branches: the Customs Branch of Long Thanh International Airport and the Customs Branch of Express Cargo Management under Dong Nai Provincial Customs Department.