Early construction of second runway at Long Thanh airport does not increase total investment

The first runway of Long Thanh airport is under construction - Photo: A LOC

According to ACV, the National Assembly 's resolution approving the investment policy for the Long Thanh airport project divides the airport's component 3 project into 3 phases: phase 1 builds 1 runway and 1 terminal along with auxiliary items with a capacity of 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tons of cargo/year; phase 2 builds a second runway and 1 passenger terminal to have a capacity of 50 million passengers and 1.5 million tons of cargo/year; phase 3 completes the project items to reach a capacity of 100 million passengers and 5 million tons of cargo/year.

However, during the implementation of the Long Thanh airport project phase 1, ACV realized that the need to invest in building a second runway parallel to and connecting to the first runway in phase 1 was extremely necessary, bringing many benefits in the process of exploiting the airport.

Because, according to the pre-feasibility study report of Long Thanh airport project, phase 1 when the airport is put into operation will reach 152,220 take-offs and landings/year (equivalent to the design capacity of 25 million passengers and 1.2 tons of cargo/year).

This is the critical traffic level for a runway. In case of aircraft damage, runway maintenance and repair will lead to partial or full exploitation of the airport. Therefore, having a second runway will contribute to improving the airport's safety capacity as well as operational stability.

Construction of the second runway during the construction of phase 1 is also more convenient when taking advantage of existing human resources and construction equipment. If the investment in the second runway occurs when phase 1 is already in operation, construction activities will cause dust and noise; the connection of infrastructure, people and vehicles entering and exiting the airport may cause disruption to operations at some times.

Third, practical experience shows that international airports that act as gateways, with a capacity of 25 million passengers/year such as Long Thanh airport phase 1, all have two parallel runways connected to each other.

Based on the analysis, ACV proposes to adjust the investment policy of Long Thanh airport project as follows: adjust the time and roadmap for project implementation in the direction of putting the second runway parallel and connecting the first runway into a category of the Long Thanh airport construction investment project phase 1. Add this content to the content of Resolution 95/2019/QH14 approved by the National Assembly. The Government is the competent authority to approve project adjustments.

According to preliminary calculations by the consulting unit, the total investment for the second runway of Long Thanh airport, 4,000m long, and the synchronized taxiways is about 3,455 billion VND from ACV's capital. The completion time is synchronized with the Component 3 project, expected in September 2026.

The construction area of the second runway of Long Thanh airport is within the investment scope of Long Thanh airport construction phase 1, which is 1,810 hectares. The site has been cleared, and the construction of leveling and drainage phase 1 has been completed.

According to ACV's calculations, the investment cost of the second runway of Long Thanh airport will be balanced in the overall project component 3 on the basis of saving investment costs for construction of other items and contingency costs, so it will not increase the total investment of project component 3.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/xay-som-duong-bang-thu-hai-san-bay-long-thanh-khong-lam-tang-tong-muc-dau-tu-20241002215847544.htm