Building Long Thanh Airport: National Assembly representatives express their support.

The majority of National Assembly delegates agreed with the phased investment approach, feasibility, and socio-economic benefits the project would bring.

During this morning's discussion in the National Assembly hall on the investment policy for the Long Thanh International Airport construction project, the majority of National Assembly deputies expressed their agreement with the report on the investment policy, as well as the explanatory report and feedback on the Long Thanh International Airport construction project by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and the Economic Committee of the National Assembly.

The consensus is that Long Thanh Airport is a particularly important national project, with immense significance in meeting the socio-economic development requirements of the country. Long Thanh's location is advantageous in many aspects, especially the connecting transportation system that has been and is being invested in.

We shouldn't put Parliament in a fait accompli situation!

Deputizing that the project's implementation has been delayed and prolonged, Representative Duong Trung Quoc, from the National Assembly delegation of Dong Nai province, expressed dissatisfaction that the project should have been implemented long ago, and that National Assembly representatives should not still be discussing it at this point.

"There are still more or less two opposing viewpoints regarding the project: those who support it and those who oppose it. So why can't we have an independent advisory center to guide the project towards feasibility, reassure the people, and gain the National Assembly's consensus?" asked Representative Duong Trung Quoc.

Representative Duong Trung Quoc, from the National Assembly delegation of Dong Nai province.

Representative Duong Trung Quoc also pointed out that this situation is not unique to the Long Thanh International Airport construction project; many other projects are facing similar problems. Although it's only the investment policy decision stage, the pre-feasibility phase, and its effectiveness cannot yet be confirmed, it has already wasted too much time.

Regarding the Long Thanh airport project, the failure to implement it as planned could have significant consequences, especially since other options such as expanding Tan Son Nhat airport or Bien Hoa airport are not feasible in the short term.

“The next step I hope the Government, especially the Ministry of Transport, will take is to further promote transparency, attract public opinion, and particularly find sound and convincing expert opinions to reassure everyone. Personally, I support this, but only on the condition that the next steps are taken and that for future projects, we have a reasonable roadmap, rather than putting things in a fait accompli situation where decisions are made only when there is no other option.”

"Tan Son Nhat Airport became overloaded so quickly that we couldn't react in time."

Representative Tran Du Lich, from the Ho Chi Minh City National Assembly Delegation, stated that Ho Chi Minh City's stance from the beginning has been clear: Tan Son Nhat Airport cannot be expanded; instead, Long Thanh Airport must be built. Tan Son Nhat is located in the inner city, surrounded by apartment complexes, and the long-term viability of an international airport within a residential area is not guaranteed.

On the other hand, expanding Tan Son Nhat Airport is currently impossible due to compensation issues. According to the Ho Chi Minh City urban planning, there is no plan to expand Tan Son Nhat, resulting in a lack of connecting transportation infrastructure. For these reasons, Representative Tran Du Lich supports the construction of the Long Thanh International Airport project to address the overcrowding at Tan Son Nhat Airport.

"If Tan Son Nhat Airport is expanded to its maximum capacity of only 25 million passengers per year, then this overload will occur rapidly, which will be an obstacle to the development of the entire Southern key economic region," said Representative Tran Du Lich.

Supporting the policy, Representative Tran Du Lich stated that the construction perspective has not yet been discussed; specific calculations will be made when the project is implemented and deemed feasible. Importantly, delaying the Long Thanh airport project will overload Tan Son Nhat airport, potentially leaving us unprepared. Therefore, it is essential to implement and complete the project as soon as possible.

As a participant in the planning of the Southern Key Economic Zone, Representative Tran Du Lich stated that Long Thanh International Airport has been planned as the center of the economic zone, with connecting transportation hubs oriented towards Long Thanh. Changing its location would require a complete re-evaluation of the detailed planning.

Having conducted a field survey, Representative Tran Du Lich supported the proposal to build an airport with a capacity of 25 million passengers per year, but requiring only 2,750 hectares of land. According to the draft submitted to the National Assembly, the project would reclaim 5,000 hectares, of which 1,050 hectares would be reserved for national defense, and the remainder for commercial and service activities. The representative suggested that these two issues should be separated.

At the same time, delegate Tran Du Lich supported the idea of ​​reclaiming the land in one go for all three phases. However, he suggested separating the commercial and service land acquisition and future lease-for-business purposes into a separate project. He argued against combining all three projects into one, as calculating compensation for 5,000 hectares would increase costs by an additional 2,250 hectares, requiring an extra $550 million USD, a need for careful consideration.

While fully supporting the next phases of the project, Representative Tran Du Lich also noted that the Government needs to carefully consider the effectiveness of the funding sources. This includes clarifying two issues: the budgetary sources, including ODA funds, and the socialized capital from the private sector. At the same time, the Government must also have a feasible plan to ensure the project's impact on public debt remains at the lowest possible level.

According to Vov.vn