Dr. Tran Dinh Ba, a renowned aviation expert who has deep knowledge about the airports in Vietnam, has repeatedly warned about possible problems with the Long Thanh Airport project.

Most recently, in a letter to Giao Duc Viet Nam, he wrote that Long Thanh, designed to serve 100 million passengers a year and be the leading transit airport in the region, is not a feasible project. 

He warned that it would be a waste to build Long Thanh during a time of increasingly high public debts. Phu Quoc and Can Tho Airports, for example, are “sitting idle” because of the lack of passengers or cargo.

Ba also stirred up public debate when he said there was “something wrong” with the project when the images of Long Thanh Airport, which looked exactly like those of Chek Lap Kok Airport in Hong Kong.

Some people have questioned whether the investors intentionally used the images of Chek Lap Kok as the illustration to better persuade the government and National Assembly to approve the project.

Ba, while emphasizing that no one is allowed to arrogate foreign images for Long Thanh Airport, has asked for a clarification from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV).

“It is a must to clarify if the images shown to National Assembly’s deputies are the images of Chek Lap Kok Airport, so that the deputies have more accurate information before making decisions,” he said.

Meanwhile, Dr. Nguyen Bach Phuc, also a renowned expert, said the report about Long Thanh project sent to him did not include of any image of Long Thanh. 

“The project is still in the very early phases, while the design is the work of the future. Therefore, the images shown are just for illustration,” Phuc said.

CAAV has officially said that Vietnam has copied the design of Chek Lap Kok Airport.

CAAV said that the preliminary design of the runway and concepts for the terminals of the airport were made by JAC and ALMEC, the Japanese consultancy firms and French ADPI, respectively. It can be found in the Long Thanh Airport development program approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No 909 dated June 14, 2011.

The four designed runways, located in parallel in two pairs, and terminals located between the two pairs is a typical design of many large airports, including Charles De Gaulle, Shanghai and Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi, according to CAAV.

GDVN