Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport has gone to the National Assembly requesting an extension of the deadline for Ho Chi Minh City’s second airport which is currently under construction in Long Thanh. At the same time, the Ministry is also asking for permission to add a second runway to the first phase of the project.
Notably, some local news outlets have connected these two requests. Lao Dong, for example, has drawn the conclusion that the new runway will mean delaying the project.
That said, Phap Luat has reported that the extension is required as a result of delay caused by the bidding process. Though it doesn’t go into detail, somewhat ironically, at least one of the problems with the bidding process was that in a first round of bidding none of the applicants met the bidding criteria, with key firms in contention raising issues about the timeline for the project.
See also: Vietnam’s Aviation Industry: Overview
