On September 17, Deputy Head of the Government Office Nguyen Sy Hiep signed and issued Document No. 8796/VPCP-CN to the Minister of Construction on the plan to exploit Tan Son Nhat International Airport (Tan Son Nhat Airport) and Long Thanh Airport.
According to the document, Lao Dong Newspaper on September 11 published an article on a reasonable exploitation plan between Tan Son Nhat airport and Long Thanh airport.
Regarding this, Politburo member and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh assigned the Minister of Construction to inspect and handle; report to the Prime Minister on the implementation results before September 27.
Previously, Lao Dong Newspaper published an article "Not yet finalized the plan to relocate all international flights from Tan Son Nhat to Long Thanh".
In the article, Mr. Uong Viet Dung - Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam - affirmed that Long Thanh airport is planned as a modern international airport, aiming to become a transit hub for Southeast Asia and Asia - Pacific.
The Government pays special attention, regularly directs and requests to shorten the progress, striving to complete the project by the end of 2025 and put it into operation by mid-2026.
According to Mr. Dung, to effectively exploit Long Thanh airport, there needs to be a clear and synchronous transition scenario for infrastructure, services, and trade; at the same time, ensuring coordination of operations in parallel with Tan Son Nhat, avoiding disruption in aviation operations.
Up to now, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has not yet finalized the final plan, but continues to listen to multi-dimensional opinions from experts to passengers.
"The highest goal is safety and efficiency, making Long Thanh a symbol of development, a new socio-economic driving force of the country, while raising Ho Chi Minh City to become a regional financial and economic center" - Mr. Dung emphasized.
Architect Ngo Viet Nam Son - an urban planning specialist - said that Long Thanh airport needs to be exploited according to a three-step roadmap.
In the first phase, when the regional infrastructure and metro lines are not yet complete, the airport should only share some of the pressure with Tan Son Nhat, while focusing on developing freight transport.
In phase two, after completing the airport transportation and urban system, it is possible to transfer more international routes.
In the final step, Long Thanh will become the leading airport in Southeast Asia, integrated with an airport urban area, free trade zone and highway network, metro - similar to the model of Singapore or Amsterdam.
"We should not give Long Thanh too much responsibility from the beginning. It is necessary to make adjustments to both make it convenient for passengers and economically efficient" - Mr. Son emphasized.
