Dong Nai to speed up site clearance for Long Thanh airport project

Dong Nai province’s authorities plan to speed up capital disbursement, as well as site clearance, compensation and resettlement for affected households, so that construction of Long Thanh International Airport can begin this year.

According to the provincial People’s Committee, in the 2018-2019 period, the central government allocated 11.49 trillion VND (490 million USD) to the province to implement the project.

The province had disbursed 1.17 trillion VND (50.1 million USD) as of January, accounting for 10.24 percent of the estimate. The province said it would accelerate the disbursement of the remaining capital by the end of this year.

Dong Nai authorities have asked the Prime Minister for permission to start bomb and mine clearance in the area to expedite progress of the project.

Speaking at a recent meeting with Dong Nai authorities, Deputy Minister of Transport Le Anh Tuan said the site must be available no later than August so that the first construction phase can begin this year. Opening is expected by 2025.

The province said it had already paid compensation to Dong Nai Rubber Corporation to build two household resettlement areas in Loc An and Binh Son communes in Long Thanh district.

The corporation has begun cutting rubber trees to hand over a clean site, according to the provincial People’s Committee.

The Long Thanh International Airport is a key national project that will have a significant impact on the southern key economic region as well as Dong Nai province, according to Tuan.

He suggested that the Ministry of Transport closely work with Dong Nai province to promptly solve problems to ensure that the project remains on schedule.

To build the airport, site clearance is needed for more than 5,000 hectares of land and more than 364 additional hectares to build two resettlement sites, including Loc An – Binh Son covering 282ha and Binh Son with more than 81ha.

As a result, some 4,800 local households and 26 organisations are expected to be relocated. Some 70 percent of the 15,500 affected people are farmers, and the rest are rubber plantation workers and workers in other sectors.

The feasibility study for the airport project has been approved by the Government.

Once fully operational, Long Thanh airport will reduce the load on Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City.

The Long Thanh International Airport is expected to handle 100 million passengers and five million tonnes of freight each year.

Covering a total area of more than 5,580 hectares, the airport will be located in six communes in Long Thanh district in Dong Nai province.

The airport’s total investment is 336.63 trillion VND (14.35 billion USD), with construction divided into three phases.

In the first phase, a runway and one passenger terminal along with other support works will be built to serve 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo each year.

The first phase is expected to be completed by 2025.