Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh gave the order to start construction and inaugurate 80 key projects.

nhà ga T3 - Ảnh 1. — Prime Minister inspects T3 terminal - Photo: VNA

Check in for flights via VNeID

Inspecting the project before the inauguration ceremony, the Prime Minister assessed that the station was ready for operation, bringing an outstanding experience to passengers.

According to the Prime Minister, Terminal T3 is the crystallization of consensus. The Prime Minister acknowledged the efforts of Ho Chi Minh City, ministries, businesses and the great sacrifices of the surrounding people.

They gave up their land, housing, and livelihoods to build the station and connecting roads. "This is a spirit of community, a source of shared pride," the Prime Minister emphasized.

With an area of 112,500m² (1 basement, 4 floors above ground), Terminal T3 integrates Smart Airport technology. Passengers use their chip-embedded citizen identification cards or VNeID to automatically complete procedures from check-in, baggage check-in, security control to boarding the plane via E-gate.

The ACV Self Services system with shared check-in kiosks helps save time, reduce thousands of traditional ticket counters, and make the process transparent.

The Prime Minister affirmed that digital transformation focuses on people, reduces costs and hassles, and eliminates negativity.

On the opening day, Terminal T3 operated 49 domestic flights of Vietnam Airlines (HCMC - Hanoi, HCMC - Van Don), serving 11,961 passengers. Free buses operate from 6am to 2am, with a frequency of 10-15 minutes/trip, connecting Terminals T1, T2, T3.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested to quickly fix all problems to ensure passengers are comfortable and excited.

Towards smart airports, railways and waterways

He emphasized the orientation of building smart terminals not only for aviation but also for railways and waterways, with the goal of basically completing Long Thanh airport terminal in 2025.

At the same time, the smart station model will be deployed nationwide, not only in aviation but also in railways and waterways. The goal is to build an integrated, intelligent transportation system that optimally serves the people.

The Prime Minister noted that operating units, especially airport leaders, need to quickly fix any problems as soon as they arise.

"Every new system has a trial period and a certain delay. The important thing is that we handle it promptly, ensuring that passengers always feel comfortable and excited," the Prime Minister advised.

The Prime Minister emphasized that Terminal T3 brings simple but meaningful joy when passengers no longer have to queue to buy tickets, check in quickly, and can even leisurely look at themselves in the mirror before boarding the plane.

This is not only a technological achievement, but also a gift for the people, contributing to the pride of a unified and strongly rising country.

Commencement and inauguration of 80 key national projects

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highly appreciated the efforts of the investor and construction units, especially CC1, in completing the project 2 months ahead of schedule.

The Prime Minister emphasized that this momentum and achievement are the premise for expecting the Long Thanh International Airport terminal project to be completed by the end of 2025, and called for continued achievement of surpassing the schedule for key national projects.

nhà ga T3 - Ảnh 2. — The Prime Minister speaks at the ceremony to deploy electronic identification, authentication and biometric recognition solutions for boarding procedures at Terminal T3 - Photo: QUANG DINH

Speaking at Tan Son Nhat Terminal T3, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that in the heroic atmosphere of the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day, 80 projects were started and completed nationwide. This result was achieved through the great efforts of the entire political system.

The Prime Minister said: Today alone, the whole country started construction of 33 new projects such as the different-level intersection of Ring Road 3 and Ring Road 5; component projects of sections 1 and 2 of Ring Road 2, the investment project to build Thai Nguyen University; Can Gio coastal urban area... all are important and strategic projects, demonstrating the determination of the entire political system, ensuring national security and defense, entering the era of national development.

By 2025, the whole country aims to build a synchronous and modern infrastructure system, prioritizing the development of information and telecommunications infrastructure, creating a foundation for national construction.

nhà ga T3 - Ảnh 3. — Groundbreaking and inauguration ceremony of works and projects at T3 terminal bridge point - Photo: QUANG DINH

Our Party determined that to complete the above tasks, it is necessary to complete technical infrastructure, unleash all resources, remove all bottlenecks and challenges to complete key projects in 2025. Basically complete phase 1 of Long Thanh airport, Terminal T3, complete 3,000 km of expressway, infrastructure, healthcare, education, and start construction of the North-South high-speed railway in 2026.

The Government held groundbreaking ceremonies for 80 projects, spanning the North, Central and South regions. Of these, 47 large-scale projects were inaugurated to serve socio-economic development, bringing the total number of expressways to 2,200 km, which could exceed 3,000 km by the end of 2025.

We are also very pleased that Terminal T3 was completed ahead of schedule, this is the result of our efforts and solidarity. This project will inspire Long Thanh International Terminal. From there, Long Thanh Airport will be basically completed by 2025 with the highest spirit."

The Prime Minister expects this to be an important project so that people can enjoy the fruits of infrastructure projects. Today's projects are of great significance, realizing the Party's policy to overcome technical infrastructure problems, open up new development space, and create development momentum.

I would like to thank the people who sacrificed part of their land and relocated their houses to support the major policies of the Party and State so that key projects can be completed and started today. The inauguration and groundbreaking have great significance in connecting within the province, between regions, between provinces, and between countries, promoting economic development.

To promote investment efficiency, units need to urgently organize effective exploitation, care for people's material and spiritual life, ensuring people have a better life. For newly started projects, units need to mobilize equipment to ensure construction quality, progress, and promote investment efficiency. In addition, focus on site clearance for projects.

"I call on each individual and each entity to innovate their thinking and ways of thinking so that projects can ensure progress, quality, and environment for the well-being of the people. I officially announce the commencement and inauguration of 80 key national projects, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification," the Prime Minister said.

Thủ tướng Phạm Minh Chính phát lệnh khởi công, khánh thành đồng loạt 80 công trình, dự án trọng điểm - Ảnh 4. — Prime Minister announces groundbreaking and inauguration of 80 key national projects - Photo: QUANG DINH

Groundbreaking ceremony of Dong Hoi T2 terminal

In addition to the inauguration of Tan Son Nhat T3 terminal, on the same day, Vietnam Airports Corporation (ACV) held a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction project of Passenger Terminal T2, Dong Hoi Airport, with a total investment of more than 1,750 billion VND.

Attending the bridge in Quang Binh were Mr. Tran Hong Minh - Member of the Party Central Committee, Minister of Construction; Mr. Tran Phong - Chairman of Quang Binh Provincial People's Committee and leaders of central and local ministries and branches.

Speaking directly at the Quang Binh bridgehead, Mr. Doan Ngoc Lam - Standing Vice Chairman of the Quang Binh Provincial People's Committee, said that the groundbreaking of the T2 passenger terminal and the increase in the capacity of Dong Hoi Airport is an important milestone, contributing to removing the bottleneck of air traffic for Quang Binh, a locality with great potential for tourism development. At the same time, this project will also become an architectural highlight, creating a new look for the province's urban area.

The T2 Passenger Terminal Project is part of the overall project "Construction of T2 Passenger Terminal and expansion of aircraft parking lot - Dong Hoi Airport".

This is a group B project invested by Vietnam Airports Corporation (ACV), using 100% ACV capital.

Terminal T2 will be built on an area of nearly 12,000m², including two floors above ground and one mezzanine, with separate arrival and departure elevations, creating ventilation and convenience in traffic.

The project is planned to serve 3 million passengers/year immediately after being put into operation, with peak hour capacity reaching 1,200 passengers/hour.

Biometric technology, saving millions of hours, creating trillions of value

Terminal T3, the largest domestic project in the country with a capacity of 20 million passengers/year, increases the total operating capacity of Tan Son Nhat airport to 50 million passengers.

The special highlight of T3 is the application of biometric technology throughout the process, allowing passengers to book tickets, check-in and board flights using only facial recognition through the VNeID application, integrated with the systems of airlines such as Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet...

Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao - Chairwoman of Vietjet Board of Directors - shared at the inauguration ceremony that biometric technology is a historical milestone, not only innovating services but also affirming the aspiration to make Vietnam become a regional and world smart aviation center.

With 109 million passengers passing through airports each year, this solution will save millions of hours of procedures, bringing economic value of tens of thousands of billions of VND.

Electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC), artificial intelligence and automation are helping Vietnamese airlines not only catch up but also have the opportunity to lead the global trend, bringing a fast, convenient and safe experience to passengers.

Mr. Dang Ngoc Hoa - Chairman of Vietnam Airlines, said that the airline operated two special flights using Boeing 787-9 aircraft printed with the Lac bird logo, symbolizing the nation's aspiration to fly high.

At 8:00 a.m., flight VN243 from Hanoi landed, becoming the first commercial flight to use T3. Following that, flight VN244 carrying 229 passengers took off from T3 to Hanoi at 9:30 a.m., officially opening the terminal.

Also on this occasion, Vietnam Airlines opened the new Lotus Lounge on the 4th floor of Terminal T3. With an area of 330m², the lounge offers a luxurious space for business class passengers, Golden Lotus members and priority passengers. From 0:00 on April 19, the airline's domestic flights between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have been transferred to T3, and the entire domestic flight network (except for routes to Con Dao, Rach Gia, Ca Mau) is expected to be completed on April 28.