Hanoi (VNA) – Prime MinisterPham Minh Chinh signed an official dispatch on April 18 demanding relevant ministriesand agencies to speed up the Long Thanh International Airport project, which islagging behind schedule.

The dispatch was sent to theministers of transport, planning and investment, construction, naturalresources and environment, public security, national defence, finance, and agricultureand rural development; the chairperson of the Committee for Management of StateCapital at Enterprises (CMSC); the chairperson of the Dong Nai provincialPeople’s Committee; and the director general of the Airports Corporation of Vietnam.

It noted that the project is of national importance and has its scheduleand completion target set by the National Assembly. The Government and the PM highlyvalued efforts by relevant ministries, sectors, the Dong Nai People’sCommittee, and other agencies in resolving difficulties and obstacles during the projectimplementation, especially the site clearance and resettlement for Phase 1.

However, the main sub-projects arelagging behind schedule. Given this, it is necessary to clarify causes andresponsibilities of relevant parties while taking timely solutions toaccelerate the project.

The PM requested investors of sub-projects, the Transport Ministry, the CMSC,and related agencies to review their assigned tasks, identify causes as well asresponsibilities of each poor-performing individual and collective, and sendreports to the Transport Ministry to sumit to Deputy PM Tran Hong Ha by April23.

In particular, the People’s Committee of Dong Nai province, which houses theairport, was told to quickly complete site clearance and hand over the land areafor Phase 1, 1,180ha, and for two roads connecting with the airport before June30. It was also asked to coordinate with relevant authorities to guaranteeorder, security, safety, and environmental hygiene in the construction site andthoroughly deal with local residents’ petitions in a timely manner.

In the dispatch, PM Chinh also gave out concreate tasks to related ministriesand agencies.

Starting in 2021, the Long ThanhInternational Airport project covers more than 5,000ha across six communes inLong Thanh district of DongNai. It has total investment is 336.63 trillionVND (14.3 billion USD) and is divided into three phases.

Once fully completed by 2050, the airport will beable to handle 100 million passengers and 5 million tonnes of cargo annually.

Located 40km east of Ho Chi Minh City, it isexpected to relieve overloading at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, currentlythe country’s largest, in the southern metropolis./.