A design of Long Thanh International Airport. — Photo cafef.vn

HA NOI — Leaders from Bechtel in the United States on December 12 made a fact-finding trip to the southern province of Dong Nai to research the Long Thanh International Airport megaproject.

Bechtel’s representatives said that it would like to study the investment, construction and operation of the project besides the investment for developing economic zones nearby the airport.

Representatives of Dong Nai province said that the Long Thanh airport is among Viet Nam’s major projects and expected Bechtel, which is a giant with experience in planning, construction and operation of airports, to research and take part in the project’s investment, especially in consulting the development planning for economic zones nearby the airport.

Representatives of Dong Nai province said that relevant authorities are organising a competition to choose designs for the Long Thanh International Airport and collect public feedback for the construction. After the process, auction for the project’s pre-feasible research will be conducted.

The project is due to break ground by 2019 and put the first phrase into operation by 2025.

Besides an area of 5,000ha planned for the Long Thanh Airport, Dong Nai Province is also planning to develop an area of 21,000ha nearby the airport.

When it begins operations, the Long Thanh Airport will help share the load with overcrowded Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City.

The plan to build the new airport, 50km from Tan Son Nhat, was ratified by Viet Nam’s law-making National Assembly in 2015, at an estimated cost of some VND336.63 trillion (US$16.03 billion) and a planned ground-breaking ceremony in 2021. However, construction should start earlier as the Tan Son Nhat International Airport has been in a constant state of congestion. — VNS