Dong Nai (VNS/VNA) - The southernprovince of Dong Nai has decided to hand over 1,165 hectares of land for thefirst construction phase of Long Thanh International Airport in early 2019.

At a meeting between the provincial People’sCommittee and agencies on November 12, vice chairman of the committee Tran VanVinh said that residents affected by the project should be adequatelycompensated and resettled in a timely manner.

Last week, the Government approved a feasibilityreport on land clearance, compensation and resettlement support related to theconstruction of the airport.

To develop the airport project, nearly 5,400haof land in Long Thanh district will be cleared, of which 5,000ha will be usedto build the airport, according to the Dong Nai People’s Committee. 

Besides a large area occupied by the Dong NaiRubber Corporation, some 5,000 households with 17,000 people will have to becleared and relocated. 

Two resettlement areas, Loc An-Binh Son (nearly300ha) and Binh Son III (81ha), are undergoing legal procedures so thatconstruction can start next year.

Resettlement areas will have new roads with lightingsystems, greenery, water supply and drainage systems, and water treatmentplants.

There will also be schools, religiousestablishments, and sport and cultural centres to serve the new residents,according to the People’s Committee. 

Since the PM authorised the province to grant alicense to build houses on the resettlement areas, construction will beginsoon.

Affected households can begin to build houses inthe Loc An-Binh Son resettlement area in January 2020, and in the Binh Son III resettlementarea in October 2020.

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In addition, Dong Nai authorities have directedagencies to oversee land speculation, especially in the 5,000-ha area for theairport. 

Dinh Quoc Thai, Chairman of the provincial People’sCommittee, said the airport project was the largest ever in the province,affecting 5,000 households, with total compensation amount of nearly 18trillion VND (775.7 million USD). 

Thai urged agencies to report any related issuesimmediately to the Steering Committee so they can be resolved in a timelymanner.

The total cost for clearance, compensation andresettlement is 22.85 trillion VND (984.6 million USD), sourced from the Statebudget.

At least 4.1 trillion VND of the amount will beinvested in infrastructure in resettlement areas, and 479 billion VND will bespent on infrastructure outside the airport.

Some 17.8 trillion VND has been earmarked forresettlement purposes, 306 billion VND for vocational training and jobgeneration for residents, and 27 billion VND for a feasibility report.

Once fully operational, the Long Thanh Airportwill reduce the load on neighbouring Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho ChiMinh City. It will be able to handle 100 million passengers and fivemillion tonnes of freight each year.

Covering a total area of more than 5,580hectares, the airport will be located in six communes in Long Thanh district inDong Nai province. 

The airport’s total investment is 336.63trillion VND, with construction divided into three phases.

In the first phase, a runway and one passenger terminalalong with other supporting works will be built to serve 25 million passengersand 1.2 million tonnes of cargo each year. This phase is expected to becompleted by 2025.

In the second phase, one more runway and anotherpassenger terminal will be built to serve around 50 million passengers and 1.5million tonnes of cargo a year.

After the third phase, the airport will be ableto serve 100 million passengers and 5 million tonnes of cargo a year. 

The investment will come from various sources,including the State budget and capital to be raised from investors and thesociety.-VNS/VNA