Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has rounded on contractors building the country’s $16bn Long Thanh International Airport, demanding that they stop gossiping and eat “quickly” and sleep “urgently”, newspaper Xay Dung reports.
He even hinted at mobilising police and army to get the airport built on time, the newspaper reported.
He made the comments after visiting the site some 40km east of Ho Chi Minh City, where he observed slow progress on the project originally scheduled for completion this coming December.
Work on the $7.8bn first phase started in July 2023. It has 15 construction packages.
So far, only the perimeter fence, ground levelling and the foundations of the terminal have been completed.
Some 800 personnel and 196 machines are working on site.
‘No gossiping’
Pham also said workers should “only discuss work, no gossiping”, and should work around the clock “eating quickly, sleeping urgently”, and “work on holidays and Tet”.
Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) is overseeing the construction consortium, called Vietur.
It’s led by Turkish contractor IC Içtas and has nine Vietnamese companies, including state-owned investor Vinaconex and Construction Corporation No 1.
Other members include private companies Ricons, Newtecons, Sol E&C and the Hanoi Construction Corporation.
The design of the 373,000-sq-m terminal is by Heerim Architects of South Korea; UK consulting engineer Arup is the structural and civil engineer.
Action against officials
The prime minister instructed the transport and rural development ministries to report to him by the Lunar New Year on what measures have been taken against officials responsible for delays.
The first phase of the airport will have one runway and be able to handle 25 million passengers a year.
Full completion will occur after 2035, when the airport will have four runways and terminals, and be able to handle up to 100 million passengers a year, placing it in the premier league of global airports.
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