Construction of Long Thanh International Airport is planned to kick off on April 1, 2021 if all preparations go smoothly.

In an updated report sent to the Ministry of Transport (MoT) last week, Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) wrote that it wants architecture selection for the airport to be finished by this September.

This is the earliest possible time, if ACV can select a suitable design, Mr. Do Tat Binh, Deputy General Director of ACV, said.

If no plans are submitted that meet ACV’s requirements or designs submitted must be adjusted, the selection process will be extended.

ACV has not received a decision from MoT on whether it should organize an exhibition of submitted architecture plans to collect public opinion. If this was done it would take about three months.

ACV finished the legal framework in June and provided all information and statistics on the airport to individuals and organizations taking part in the architecture selection contest. The deadline for submissions is August 8.

It is quickly completing the feasibility study so it can issue bidding documents to international contractors in November.

It will spend about a month evaluating the bidding documents before holding discussions with potential contractors. The contractor for the project is expected to be announced in January 2017.

In November 2015 ACV submitted to the government the first three bidding packages: project verification consultancy ($13,500), environmental impact consultancy ($170,350), and feasibility study consultancy ($18.8 million).

Capital for the three packages comes from ACV’s investment and development fund.    

The time needed for consultancy on a large-scale project like the $5.45 billion Long Thanh International Airport is estimated to be at least 16 months.

ACV therefore expects that from the middle of June 2018 to July 2018 the appraisal documents for the feasibility study will be researched by MoT, with submission to the government in July or August 2018.

Any document to be put before the National Assembly (NA) must be submitted three months before its meeting.

If documents cannot be submitted before its meeting in October 2018, submission will be delayed until May 2019. If submission is delayed, the project will take six months longer.

After being approved by the Prime Minister, about 18 months is needed for technical design and total cost estimates to invite construction contractors.

Construction bidding documents will be decided in November 2019 to attract construction contractors and the evaluation process will be conducted in February 2021.

By March 2021, a construction contract will be signed.

ACV also urged the Dong Nai Provincial People’s Committee to report to the government on its plans to use State budget funds for site clearance.

In 2015 the total cost of site clearance compensation for the airport was estimated at VND13.1 trillion ($582.7 million), according to a report presented by the Dong Nai Department of Natural Resources and Environment to a provincial government meeting on August 31, 2015.

There are a total of 15,000 people to be relocated from the project area. The land area of households and individuals amounts to 1,970 ha, accounting for 59 per cent of the total land recovered for the airport.

The land area for transportation, rivers and streams is over 106 ha and the headquarters of companies and organizations and religious buildings total 1,923 ha.

Located in Long Thanh district in Dong Nai province, the airport will cover a total area of 5,000 ha, of which the area for infrastructure is 2,750 ha, defense 1,050 ha, and other facilities 1,200 ha.

ACV operates 22 airports in Vietnam. Among its targets for 2016 it is to welcome 73 million passengers, a 12.4 per cent year-on-year increase, 53 million of which are domestic, and to cater to 516,000 commercial flights.

Revenue is targeted at almost VND12.1 trillion ($541.9 million) and pre-tax profit at over VND2 trillion ($89.5 million).