ACV proposes early construction of 3rd runway at Long Thanh airport in southern Vietnam

In an official document sent to the prime minister and relevant ministries, ACV noted that in mid-August 2025, the prime minister instructed the Ministry of Construction and the corporation to study and propose the implementation of the airport’s third runway.

According to the approved master plan, phase 2 of Long Thanh Airport, targeted for completion by 2030, will include three runways and two passenger terminals, with a total capacity of 50 million passengers and 1.5 million tonnes of cargo annually.

Under the National Assembly’s resolution on the investment policy for the Long Thanh Airport project, the third runway will be 4,000 meters long and 60 meters wide, capable of accommodating aircraft such as the Airbus A380 or equivalent.

The third runway is part of phase 2.

Therefore, ACV emphasized that accelerating the study and implementation of the third runway and phase 2 is essential to ensure timely completion before 2030, in line with the approved plan and investment policy.

To date, the first runway at Long Thanh Airport has been completed and was ready for calibration flights starting from September 26.

Construction of the second runway began in June 2025 and is expected to be completed by December 2025.

Phase 1 of Long Thanh Airport is scheduled to receive its first flight on December 19, 2025, and commence commercial operations in the first half of 2026, as directed by the prime minister.

ACV believes that leveraging the available workforce and equipment of contractors currently working on the first and second runways to immediately begin construction of the third runway — right after the second is completed during the 2025–26 dry season — will significantly save time and reduce the cost of mobilizing additional resources, while shortening the overall construction timeline.

The early construction of the third runway and other phase 2 components would help minimize the impact of dust, noise, and machinery movement on the airport’s operations once phase 1 becomes operational in the first half of 2026.

ACV has also proposed that the prime minister approve its role as the investor for the third runway project, with a total estimated cost of VND12 trillion (US$455 million), to be funded entirely through ACV’s legal capital without government guarantees.

Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2026.

The corporation also sought approval to be the investor for phase 2 of Long Thanh Airport.

ACV intends to quickly use its legal capital to select an international consultant to prepare and verify the project’s feasibility report.

The report will be submitted to the government for review and presented to the National Assembly for approval before the prime minister issues the final project decision.

Once phase 1 of Long Thanh Airport is complete, the facility will have capacity for 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo per year, helping to ease congestion at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City.

Upon full completion, Long Thanh is expected to handle up to 100 million passengers and five million tonnes of cargo annually, making it a key international transit hub in the region.