Expectations and commitments appear increasingly disconnected from on-the-ground progress, raising questions about whether the current timetable remains achievable.
Long Thanh International Airport will begin trial operations in September ahead of a planned commercial opening in December, VN Express reported yesterday.
Airports Corporation of Vietnam Acting General Director Nguyen Duc Hung said testing would take place in September, October and November before operations begin in December.
Project Management Board Director Vu Pham Nguyen An said the airport was nearly 76 percent complete, with the first runway and aircraft apron already finished, according to VN Express reporting.
This comes, however, after the Airport Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), which is running the project, advised in late May that the passenger terminal package was only 63 percent complete and another key infrastructure package was just 50 percent complete.
Delays in contractor payments, incomplete critical infrastructure, and labour shortages have slowed progress, the ACV has said.
This is despite a push from Prime Minister Le Minh Hung, who ordered the Long Thanh International Airport project to be completed and operational within 2026, calling it a key political priority.
Though, at the same time, the authorities have ordered leadership restructuring at ACV and accelerated investigations into project-related violations.
This has, however, led to disputes with key contractors.
For example, attempts to change US dollar payments for equipment, which was accepted at contract award, to Vietnamese dong for goods purchased locally, has been met with some resistance.
Specifically, ACV has proposed using a conversion rate of VND 23,650 per US dollar, which was current at the time the contract was signed. The contractor, IC Ictas, however, has rejected this, seeking full US dollar payment or a conversion at the current rate of about VND 26,000.
This was back in April. It is not clear if this has been resolved.
Police also detained two senior executives of construction firm Vinaconex over alleged violations of bidding regulations, back in March.
The Ministry of Public Security has alleged the firm paid bribes in order to secure key contracts.
Vinaconex is part of the consortium building Long Thanh airport’s passenger terminal.
That is to say, with political pressure, contractor disputes, corruption investigations and persistent construction delays all unfolding simultaneously, Long Thanh’s announced milestones should really be taken with a grain of salt.