VietNamNet Bridge – Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has urged the ministries of Transport and Defence to finalise a plan to expand Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City and report to the Government next week.

Vietnam Airlines planes at Tan Son Nhat Airport in HCM City. The ministries of Transport and Defence are being urged to finalise plans to expand and upgrade the airport. — Photo: VNA/VNS

The Airport Design and Construction Consultancy One Member Ltd Company (ADCC) has been chosen to oversee the plan to expand and upgrade the airport.

Speaking at a working session on Wednesday, Dung urged ministries and agencies to conduct research and submit a detailed and adjusted plan to the Government for final approval.

The Government has chosen one of the three plans that were submitted by ADCC.

Dung said it was essential to tackle bottlenecks and overloading at the airport, mobilise capital for the project, and improve investment efficiency, in addition to ensuring construction safety and quality, as well as aviation security.

Tan Son Nhat airport, with a designed capacity of 25 million passengers, handled 32.5 million passengers in 2016. The expansion plan is expected to enable the airport to serve 40-45 million passengers per year.

The Government considered ADCC’s three major plans and chose the third proposal, which would use existing military land with investment of only VND19.35 trillion (US$847.53 million) and would take no longer than three years to build, while still ensuring the required capacity of 43-45 million passengers per year by 2018.

Under the first proposal that was considered, a new system of runways, taxiways, aprons, terminals and auxiliary works would have been built on the golf course area in the northern part of the airport.

An increase of capacity to about 60 million passengers a year would have required about 15 years of construction with an expected cost of about VND201.35 trillion ($8.82 billion).

Under that plan, about 626 ha of land would have been needed to be cleared, including a military area, golf course and 322 ha of residential land with around 140,000 households.

Under another proposal, which was rejected, a third runway would have been built. A passenger terminal T4 was also proposed for the northern area of the airport and a passenger terminal T3 in the southern area.

The plan would have required a total investment of VND100.96 trillion ($4.42 billion) - 187.26 trillion ($8.2 billion). Construction would have taken 10 to 15 years to be completed.

Deputy PM Trinh Dinh Dung praised ADCC’s efforts and asked them to adjust and refine the chosen plan, which would cost less than the two other plans and has a shorter completion date, while still increasing the airport’s capacity.

Tan Son Nhat airport now serves 28 million passengers per year even though its capacity was planned to be only 25 million per year until 2020.

The chosen plan includes the construction of parallel taxiways and connecting taxiways between the current runways and aircraft parking areas; rapid-exit taxiways and parallel taxiways between two runways; and renovation of the current north runway.

A dual-use terminal (T3) with capacity of 10 million passengers per year, and a passenger terminal (T4) with an annual capacity of 10 million passengers will also be built.

Deputy PM Dung said the transport ministry should identify the projects and sources of capital for the chosen plan.

“State-owned enterprises will be responsible for contributing investment capital to the works that uses State budget funds, such as taxiways and aircraft parking areas, while the passenger terminal and service areas should mobilise private capital,” he said.

“Traffic routes connected with the airport should be built with funds from HCM City’s People’s Committee,” he added.  

The transport ministry will work with the Department of Defence to identify the military land to be used and determine a land-transfer plan. It will also consult the municipal People’s Committee to ensure that the projects are effectively implemented.

Dung asked the People’s Committee to develop a new plan to improve the urban landscape around the airport area and make adjustments to ensure smooth traffic near the airport.

“The Ministry of Transport needs to work closely with the ministries of Defence and Construction, the People’s Committee, and other agencies to seek measures to speed up the project to expand and upgrade the airport,” Dung said.  

Land for airport expansion

The Ministry of Defence on Wednesday handed over 21 hectares of land to the Ministry of Transport to expand Tan Son Nhat airport.

The land was once used for military airplane parking for the Military Aviation Brigade 918 and Military Aviation Regiment 917. The two units will be relocated to Bien Hoa City in the southern province of Dong Nai.

Last year, 32 million passengers passed through the airport.

Officials continue to work on a way to alleviate the load until the expected completion of Long Thanh International Airport in nearby Dong Nai Province in 2025.

VNS