Foreign investors swarm Long Thanh airport project In an attempt to reaffirm their ambitions of developing Long Thanh International Airport in the southern province of Dong Nai, Hanoi General Export Import JSC (Geleximco) and Hong Kong United Investors Holding (HUI) submitted their proposal to the prime minister for approval.   If approved, these enterprises pledge to complete the construction between 3-5 years with the minimum expenditure for a modern airport. Vu Van Tien, chairman of the board of directors cum general director of Geleximco, has confirmed the above information with Dantri. According to VIR’s earlier report, in October 2016, the two parties requested authorisation from the Ministry of Transport to develop Long Thanh International Airport, one of the four large-scale traffic infrastructure projects that these enterprises were interested in developing in Vietnam. The three other projects are the Thanh Hoa-Ha Tinh and Ho Chi Minh City-Khanh Hoa expressways under the north-south expressway project, the Halong-Van Don-Mong Cai Highway project, and the north-south express railway project. Although the investors have yet to release the specific investment capital for the four projects, the total is expected to be nearly US$50 billion. HUI has vast experience in implementing traffic infrastructure as well as international terminal projects. In addition, it has strong financial potential due to the backing of financial enterprises from Hong Kong, including Huarong Oversea Investment, China Minsheng Financial, and China Orient Asset Management International. Geleximco was established in 1993 to operate import, export, and trade services. The corporation has gradually laid down the groundwork for its venture into industry, real estate, financing, and information technology. Currently, it has 30 subsidiaries and dozens of affiliates operating throughout Vietnam. Along these two enterprises, seven contractors from the US, Japan, and Europe expressed interest in joining the Long Thanh International Airport project. In June 2016, the National Assembly approved the construction of Long Thanh International Airport. The project’s construction, which is expected to start in 2019, will cover an area of 5,000 hectares in the six communes of Binh Son, Suoi Trau, Cam Duong, Long An, Long Phuoc, and Bau Can in Long Thanh district. Long Thanh Airport is scheduled to be constructed on an area of 2,750ha. Once the first phase is put into operation in 2025, the airport is expected to handle 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo each year. The first phase will include the construction of a runway, a terminal, and auxiliary facilities. The second and third phases will add more runways and terminals to bring the total annual capacity to 100 million passengers and five million tonnes of cargo. The airport will meet the 4F standards of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, taking a huge step towards becoming an international passenger and cargo transit centre in the region. VIR