Public feedback welcomed on designs for megaairport in southern Vietnam

Potential designs to be used in Vietnam’s new international airport near Ho Chi Minh City are on display in Hanoi for public feedback, with similar displays scheduled soon for Danang, Dong Nai, and Ho Chi Minh City.

The public display, co-organized by the Ministry of Transport and the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), commenced on November 28 and will be open to the public until December 12.

Nine potential designs of the multibillion-dollar Long Thanh International Airport, which is set to break ground in the southern province of Dong Nai no later than 2019, are being exhibited at the Vietnam Exhibition Center for Culture and the Arts in Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi.

An aerial view of design plan LT-01 for Long Thanh International Airport in Dong Nai Province

Miniature models, prospective renderings and detailed information regarding each design are on view, with visitors able to fill out a feedback form to leave their comment.

According to ACV CEO Le Manh Hung, the nine designs are international submissions from an earlier architectural competition held by his corporation.

Criteria include utility, esthetics, feasibility, architectural planning and landscapes, and the designs must reflect the significance of the airport, Hung said.

All nine designs have been previosuly evaluated and scored by the competition’s board of judges, but require additional public feedback before they are submitted to Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who will be tasked with deciding on the best option.

After Hanoi, similar public displays will be held in Danang City from December 16 to 25; in Dong Nai Province from December 28 to January 11, 2017; and in Ho Chi Minh City from January 13 to 23.

Feedback can also be submitted via the online portal of the Ministry of Transport, as well as via relevant bodies concerned with the airport’s construction and management.

Long Thanh International Airport, located 50 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat airport, is expected to alleviate passenger load in the overcrowded southern hub upon its completion.

The plan to build the airport was ratified by Vietnam’s lawmaking National Assembly in 2015, with an estimated cost of some VND336.63 trillion (US$15.03 billion).