May 23, 2023 | 07:00:00 GMT+7 | Weather 19°
Follow us:
70th anniversary of Hanoi's Liberation Day Vietnam - Asia 2023 Smart City Summit Hanoi celebrates 15 years of administrative boundary adjustment 12th Vietnam-France decentrialized cooperation conference 31st Sea Games - Vietnam 2021 Covid-19 Pandemic
May 16, 2018 / 12:55

Tan Son Nhat Airport needs $470 million for expansion

Costs for the expansion of Tan Son Nhat International Airport under the new proposal is some VND10.7 trillion (US$470 million) lower than the previous one.

During a recent meeting to discuss the project, Nguyen Bach Tung, Director of the state-owned consultancy Airport Design and Construction Consultancy One Member Ltd Company (ADCC), said that the Prime Minister approved the French consultancy ADPi’s plan to expand the airport and ADCC is reviewing to make it suitable to Vietnam’s conditions.
 
Tan Son Nhat Airport is expected to serve at least 50 million passengers a year
Tan Son Nhat Airport is expected to serve at least 50 million passengers a year
According to Tung, ADCC’s plan will keep most of ADPi’s recommendations, but redesigning a terminal and the airplane aprons surrounding it to lower the project’s total investment capital to VND25 trillion ($1.1 billion) against VND35.7 trillion ($1.56 billion) as under the ADPi’s proposal.
Of the amount, ADCC proposed more than VND7.6 trillion would be used for a passenger terminal, VND5.2 trillion for an airfield, and VND3 trillion for a cargo terminal, with the remaining capital would be for other technical infrastructure.
Tung said a park and a lake should also be built to improve the drainage system in the northern area of the airport.
In the southern area of the airport, ADCC proposed building a passenger terminal on 120,000 sq. m. instead of 200,000 sq. m. as proposed by ADPi.
He said that the adjusted design would still be able to accommodate 20 million passengers per year.
ADCC proposed building the aprons in a more linear manner to save land, but said the taxiway design proposed by ADPi should remain the same.
ADCC also proposed building more flyovers connected to the airport to ease traffic congestion around the area.
The proposed flyovers include one from Hoang Van Thu and Nguyen Van Troi streets passing over Thang Long Street and then connecting with Phan Thuc Dien Street.
Another flyover would be built from C12 Street passing over Cong Hoa and Truong Chinh streets and connecting with Le Trong Tan Street.
Dinh Viet Thang, Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), agreed with ADCC’s proposal to build the new terminal on an area of 120,000 sq. m, with the condition that it serve 20 million passengers per year. 
Thang said that other parts of the ADCC proposal should follow those recommended by the ADPi plan, which has been approved by the PM.
Deputy Transport Minister Le Dinh Tho said the plan to expand Tan Son Nhat must ensure minimal impact on residents and require as little site clearance as possible.
The proposal by ADCC must be reviewed by CAAV before it is submitted to the Ministry of Transport, which will consult other agencies before May 21, according to CAAV.
In late March, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc approved the expansion of the airport to the south as proposed by ADPi after ongoing debate over whether to expand to the north or south. 
The first consultants hired by HCM City authorities had proposed expanding the airport to the north.
But ADPi argued that a similar passenger terminal built to the north, instead of the south, would cost twice as much, at about VND36 trillion, while the terminals – old and new – would not be connected.
Under the ADPi proposal, part of the land north of the airport, which includes a golf resort and 16ha of vacant land managed by the Ministry of National Defence, will be used for support facilities, including a cargo terminal, aircraft repair station, and logistics services, but not until 2025. The airport is expected to serve at least 50 million passengers a year.