The field trip aims to gain better understanding of the Long ThanhInternational Airport project, including issues of investment, construction,airport operation and development of an economic zone surrounding the airport,said a representative of Bechtel at a working session.
Local authorities also expressed wish that Bechtel will invest in the project,especially providing consultations on the development of the zone.
Covering an area of 5,000 ha, the Long Thanh airport is designed to be thebiggest one in Vietnam, with its construction scheduled to begin in 2019.
The airport is expected to handle 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnesof cargo by 2025 in the first phase, which includes the construction of arunway, a terminal and auxiliary facilities.
The second and third phases will build more runways and terminals tobring the total capacity to 100 million passengers and five million tonnes ofcargo a year.
It will be constructed as acategory 4F airport in line with the standard codes of the International CivilAviation Organisation (ICAO).
The airport aims to ease the overload at the Tan Son Nhat InternationalAirport in Ho Chi Minh City, which serves up to 36 million passengers annuallydespite its designed capacity of only 25 million.
Total investment capital for the project is estimated at 336.63trillion VND (16.03 billion USD). Of which, 114.45 trillion VND (5.45 billionUSD) will be spent on the first phase.
Project resources will be sourced from the State budget, the aviationsector’s equitisation capital, official development assistance (ODA),public-private partnership capital and other sources in line with the law.
Dong Nai province has also been planning a 21,000ha economic zone surroundingthe airport.-VNA