Construction on the Long Thanh International Airport in the southern province of Dong Nai will commence in 2015 with an investment of 5.6 billion USD in the first phase.
The information was revealed by the Ministry of Transport at a July 8 seminar to collect feedback on the project, which is expected to be built on 5,000 hectares in Long Thanh district.
According to Lai Xuan Thanh, head of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, once the first phase completes in 2020, the airport is designed to house 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo each year. The respective figures will be 52 million passengers and 1.5 million tonnes of cargo when its second phase of 2020-2030 finishes.
After 2030, the airport, which will have two runways capable of accommodating large aircraft such as the A380-800, is expected to receive 100 million passengers and 5 million tonnes of cargo.
Transport Deputy Minister Pham Quy Tieu said that the construction of Long Thanh Airport is in line with transport strategies and plans of the country and the southern region.
Most participants emphasised the need to speed up the construction of the airport as it is seen as an entrepot in Southeast Asia by 2020.
Dong Nai authorities have recently also unveiled a development plan for the 21,000 hectare area surrounding the upcoming airport, the largest such facility in Vietnam .
Under the plan, the area will include a tourism complex, several industrial clusters, and world-class sporting, education and health care facilities.