HCMC airport still set to take flight
The Ministry of Transport (MoT) believes that Long Thanh airport is the optimal facility to replace Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City when the latter reaches full capacity by 2020.
MoT Deputy Minister Pham Quy Tieu dismissed a suggestion by two aviation experts to scrap Long Thanh and instead expand Tan Son Nhat, saying the expansion is infeasible.
Le Trong Sanh, ex-head of international flight management at Tan Son Nhat airport and Mai Trong Tuan, a former Vietnam Airlines pilot, said an expanded Tan Son Nhat airport can handle the increasing number of domestic and international passengers.
“It is impossible because Tan Son Nhat is located in a densely populated area surrounded by main streets of Ho Chi Minh City,” Tieu said in a report sent to the Cabinet.
“The expansion plan will affect the environment in downtown areas by causing noise and emission levels to exceed acceptable levels.”
According to Japan Airport Consultants Inc. (JAC), Tan Son Nhat airport will reach its peak capacity of 20-25 million passengers between 2018-2020 and will be overloaded after that.
The cost of expanding the airport is estimated at US$9.15 billion besides US$16.1 billion for site clearance and relocating some 140,000 people living in the districts of Phu Nhuan, Tan Binh and Go Vap.
The plan to build Long Thanh airport was mooted in 2005, and construction is expected to be completed within the next decade.
The 5,000ha airport, 43km from Tan Son Nhat airport is designed to handle 100 million passengers and five million tonnes of cargo a year, and can accomodate Airbus A380 and other similar sized aircraft.
JAC, the consultant to the project, has estimated Long Thanh Airport to cost US$7.8 billion, including US$730 million for acquiring land and relocating thousands of households in the area.