During a visit to the country’s main gateway and largest airport, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said the Government targets to complete the investment procedures and commence the construction of Saigon’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport's new terminal in Q3 this year.
In 2020, the Government approved the expansion of the airport’s capacity by constructing a new terminal. A year later, the state-owned Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) was pushing up efforts to start the construction of Terminal 3 in October last year. But because of the restrictions brought by COVID-19, it was halted. ACV is the investor in this project.
Under the plan, the investment capital is estimated at VND11 trillion (US$470 million) for a capacity of 20 million passengers per year. The construction period of the new terminal would be around 37 months.
So far, the preparation process has been completed, including drafting a feasibility study, technical design, financial estimate, and removal of unexploded ordinance. However, problems still remain, including the delay of the site clearance and the adjustment of the land use planning.
The prime minister also asked the local authorities to focus on addressing the remaining issues and fully resolving the airport’s congestion. The head of state told the local media that expansion is necessary to avoid public frustration, especially now that people are free to travel and many socio-economic activities are being held in Vietnam.
The prime minister appointed Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh to lead the project implementation, working closely with the Ministry of Transport being the coordinator.
The Ministry of National Defence is expected to hand over the clear site to the contractors this month. HCMC People’s Committee has to finalize the planning process for the airport and surrounding areas.
“All administrative procedures should be accelerated for the national interest and the benefit of the people,” the prime minister said, calling for authorities to ensure no corruption or irregularities during the construction process.
Tan Son Nhat International Airport is the busiest in the country. In 2019, before the global pandemic grounded the aviation industry, the two terminals handled approximately 40 million passengers — 1.6x higher than their designed annual capacity of 28 million.