Long Thanh Airport: Proof of the will "nothing is impossible" (Part 2)

LESSON 2: "RUNWAY" FOR DONG NAI TO RISE UP AND DEVELOP

If Long Thanh Airport is identified as the "core" of Dong Nai 's development in the new era, then Long Thanh Airport urban area and the Free Trade Zone (FTZ) associated with this airport are the most important "pieces" to realize the great potential and advantages that this "super" project creates.

Comrade Vu Hong Van, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Dong Nai Province and provincial leaders surveyed the urban airport construction planning area, FTZ Area and traffic connecting Long Thanh Airport in August 2025. Photo: Contributor

“Opening the sky”, helping Dong Nai take off

During the working session between the Government delegation and the Provincial People's Committee on August 15, 2025, Party Central Committee member, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc assessed: Long Thanh Airport, when completing 3 phases, will be the 6th largest airport in the world and one of the most modern airports in the world. The position of Long Thanh Airport will also affirm the stature of the country and Dong Nai province.

According to comrade Vo Tan Duc, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, Dong Nai identified Long Thanh Airport located in the province as the "core" in the development orientation of the province in the coming time. Long Thanh Airport Urban Area and Dong Nai River Corridor are two new driving forces for development in the province.

Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Dinh Thien, former Director of the Vietnam Economic Institute, member of the Government Advisory Group, assessed: Long Thanh Airport has the mission of creating great prospects and opportunities for the development breakthrough of the country, the Ho Chi Minh City region and Dong Nai province. "An international transit airport combined with international ports will bring a great driving force for development. Therefore, Dong Nai will reach a completely different level of development, because it creates a new development approach for the province, which is high-tech industry, smart urban areas" - Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Dinh Thien shared.

The Resolution of the Dong Nai Provincial Party Congress for the 2025-2030 term also determined that one of the province's development perspectives is to focus on digital economy, green economy, circular economy, sharing economy, and knowledge economy. Making Dong Nai a leading locality in developing aviation economy, high-tech industry, high-tech agriculture, logistics center, science, technology, innovation and digital transformation. In particular, Long Thanh Airport, when completed synchronously, will make Dong Nai a modern logistics center of the country, playing a key role in the national and international supply chain.

Realizing the development momentum of "super" airports

According to the plan, the total area of ​​Long Thanh Airport urban area and surrounding areas has a scale of more than 57 thousand hectares. Of which, the Long Thanh Airport urban area occupies the largest area, with more than 43 thousand hectares, planned to develop according to the modern, green, smart, globally connected Airport City model, making Long Thanh become the leading international aviation - logistics center in Southeast Asia.

According to the plan of the consortium of the National Institute of Architecture - Nihon Sekkei, Inc (Japan) - Coninco Construction Technology, Equipment and Inspection Joint Stock Company (VIAR-NS-Coninco Consortium), the winner of the first prize of the Competition for General Urban Planning Ideas for Long Thanh Airport and its vicinity, Long Thanh Airport is oriented to develop the Aerotropolis urban model. This is a transformative urban development model, placing the airport as the center of economic development, taking advantage of connectivity, logistics and industry to create strongly developing urban centers, expanding beyond the airport. In particular, Long Thanh Aerotropolis and Ho Chi Minh City will connect according to the twin city model, creating a globally competitive area, with Long Thanh Airport as the center.

Deputy Director of the Department of Construction Do Thanh Phuong said: Based on the results of the competition, the Department of Construction and the consortium of consultants have developed a budget estimate, negotiated and agreed on the content of the consulting contract to submit to the Provincial People's Committee for approval. Currently, the Provincial People's Committee has requested the Department of Construction to focus on completing the Long Thanh Urban Master Plan Project to soon report to the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Committee.

In addition to developing the Long Thanh Airport urban model, Dong Nai province has implemented procedures to propose the Government to draft a special resolution to submit to the National Assembly on the establishment and development of the FTZ in the province, associated with the airport. From there, it will create a driving force for economic growth and attract strong investment to realize the goal of turning the locality into a leading economic, industrial and logistics center.

On August 18, 2025, during a survey of the urban airport construction planning area, the FTZ area and traffic connecting Long Thanh Airport, Comrade Vu Hong Van, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Dong Nai Province noted: The Provincial People's Committee and related departments, branches and localities need to closely review planning, land use and attract investors. In particular, in the context of Long Thanh Airport preparing to be completed and put into operation at the end of 2025, the attractiveness of the Long Thanh area to investors is very large.

During the implementation process, relevant units must pay attention to enhancing the value of land resources; strategic, long-term planning for the Long Thanh Airport urban area to develop to its full potential, creating momentum for Dong Nai province to take off. Long Thanh must be planned best, must choose the best investor and the implementation progress must be the fastest. For the FTZ area, it is necessary to continue to closely follow the Central's instructions, and at the same time refer to the experience of building free trade zones in Da Nang city and some countries in the region. From there, choose the most suitable, optimal, and effective plan, contributing to creating momentum for Dong Nai to develop quickly and sustainably.

“Important engine” for economic growth

According to the assessment of the research team of the Department of Scientific Research, Cooperation and Training, Institute of Urban Planning and Construction under the Department of Construction of Ho Chi Minh City, Long Thanh Airport is located entirely in Dong Nai province, is an important "locomotive" for economic growth.

Dr. of Science - Architect Ngo Viet Nam Son, Chairman of NgoViet Architects & Planners, said: In the context of the whole country having just implemented the arrangement of provincial administrative boundaries, the scale of Long Thanh Airport urban area should also be considered and recalculated to suit the new reality. In particular, Long Thanh Airport urban area is not only limited to the current planning research scope but also needs to be considered and expanded to Nhon Trach urban area and linked with Ho Chi Minh City urban area.

Perspective of general urban planning of Nhon Trach according to the proposed plan of the consulting unit. Photo: Pham Tung

On November 13, 2025, at a working session with the Central working delegation led by General Secretary To Lam on the Long Thanh Airport Project, Comrade Vu Hong Van, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation, said: Dong Nai Province has prepared the necessary conditions to maximize the advantages when Long Thanh Airport comes into operation, thereby completing the double-digit growth target for the entire 2025-2030 term.

However, to do this, the head of the Dong Nai Provincial Party Committee also proposed that the Government pay attention to approving the synchronous policy mechanism for Dong Nai province's free trade zone associated with Long Thanh Airport and Cai Mep Ha free trade zone associated with the seaport to connect the two free trade zones, supporting each other to compete with international free trade zones.

At the same time, Dong Nai province also proposed the Central Government to review and adjust the population size of the Long Thanh - Nhon Trach area to reach 2.5 million people in the Dong Nai Provincial Planning in the planning adjustment period currently being implemented. The adjustment to increase the population size of this area is the basis for forecasting, calculating, and planning land funds to anticipate the investment wave of large, capable, and experienced investors and corporations interested in investing in this area.

Long Thanh Airport will only be truly effective when traffic connections, urban services, and logistics are organized synchronously and modernly.

General Secretary TO LAM

At the meeting, General Secretary To Lam assessed: The recommendations of Dong Nai province are completely appropriate. Agreeing with the recommendations of the province, the General Secretary emphasized: Dong Nai takes that as a basis for double-digit growth, accelerates progress and effectively exploits the Long Thanh Airport Project, making the province become the economic center of the Southeast region, the key economic region of the South, Vietnam and the Southeast Asia region in general.

General Secretary To Lam also noted: It is necessary to build a modern and synchronous ecosystem and aviation services including accommodation areas, hotels, conference centers, trade, healthcare, training and education, logistics, logistics engineering, tariffs, and supporting financial services, to become a modern airport city - an airport urban model (Aerotropolis), to become a logistics and transit service center in Southeast Asia.

Pham Tung

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/kinh-te/202511/san-bay-long-thanh-minh-chung-cua-y-chi-khong-gi-la-khong-the-bai-2-5c30535/