Planning the Long Thanh Airport city to be conducted in parallel with planning the airport

​Delegate Hoang Van Cuong (from Hanoi), Vice Headmaster of National Economics University, assessed that only 4 months after the 3rd session, the National Assembly allowed separating land clearance, resettlement assistance Long Thanh Airport into an independent project, which shows the determination and great efforts of the Government and Dong Nai People's Committee. Delegate Hoang Van Cuong was also impressed with the description of the technical design of the project.

 An airport city needs constructing

However, delegate Hoang Van Cuong said that the feasibility study report still lacks detailed data to calculate the exact and accurate scale of land recovery, support and resettlement schemes for the residents. The report also doesn’t propose the most appropriate way of assessing the impact of the project.

The delegate analyzed that: according to the report, in 2018-2019 the construction of a resettlement area of 280 hectares and 4,823 land plots will be completed, of which 98% is for resettlement of more than 4 thousand households. In the 2019-2020 period, the resettlement site will continue to be constructed with an area of 282.79 hectares, divided into 1,539 land plots and 30% of which is for resettlement of 469 households. Thus, in addition to the resettlement area, there are 1,166 land plots to construct houses in accordance with the model of developing new urban areas to meet the needs of the people. However, for areas under planning and new development investments, the price of land will change daily, so it is important to pay attention to the compensation rate of the two stages in order not to cause any complaints in resettlement compensation, which may lead to difficulties in the clearance.

In addition, facts around the world show that when an international airport is constructed to serve 25-50 million visitors, an airport city with the development of trade centers, logistics centers and residences will be established too. Long Thanh Airport was planned with a capacity of 100 million passengers, only 40km from Ho Chi Minh City, 30km from Bien Hoa, 70km from Vung Tau City, the airport is conveniently located in the heart of the Southeastern Economic Zone. Long Thanh Airport will lead to the establishment of new urban area of services with thousands of hectares.

The resettlement area in Binh Son with an area of 289.79 hectares will break the planning to form a modern airport city in the future. Therefore, according to delegate Hoang Van Cuong, there should be only a resettlement area, and the size of the land plot for resettlement needs adjusting. At the same time, the Government should soon expedite the planning of Long Thanh Airport City in parallel with the plan to construct Long Thanh Airport. This does not only bring in hundreds of thousands of billions dong but also help to establish a modern center in the South East.

Concerns about financial source

Delegate Phung Duc Tien (Ha Nam) expressed his concern about the continuous increase in capital, which was initially more than 13 trillion, then increased up to more than 18 trillion and now more than 23 trillion. It is not certain whether it will continue to increase when the actual implementation of the project begins; whether the reserve of 10% of the project is enough to solve the arising problems?

On the other hand, in the medium-term public investment plan for the 2016-2020 period, the National Assembly has approved to allocate VND5 trillion for land clearance of the project. But now according to the submission of Government to the National Assembly, the project needs more than 23 trillion, so the remaining 18 trillion should be taken from the general reserve. However, according to the regulation, this source can only be used in cases where state budget revenues are sufficient for the plan, while in fact the State budget is currently facing a lot of difficulties; particularly, state budget revenue may not meet the set target. Therefore, It is difficult to use this backup plan.

Delegate Tran Hoang Ngan (from Ho Chi Minh City) said that the plan to allocate additional 15 trillion dong (from the source of 80 trillion dong for important national projects according to the resolution of the National Assembly) and 2.938 billion from the land use fee, resettlement land allocation in the first phase will be more feasible than that to supplement from medium-term public investment budget 2016-2020. Delegate Tran Hoang Ngan also emphasized the synchronous infrastructure connection between Long Thanh Airport with Ben Luc - Long Thanh route and other highways for the most effective exploitation.

Making his explanatory statements to the National Assembly, Minister of Traffic and Transport Nguyen Van The said that the medium term capital of this term focuses mainly on highways, so the unfinished construction works of railways and roadways are urgent issues. Some bridges have been completed, but they are not accessible yet since the construction of connected roadways is not implemented. If capital is not arranged for such implementation in this term, it will result in a huge waste in 4-5 years. Therefore, the Government proposes allocating funds to implement the construction of 10 urgent national road projects.

Concluding the discussion session, Vice Chairman of National Assembly Phung Quoc Hien stressed that it is clearly stated in the resolution of the National Assembly that 80 trillion is for the investment of national key programs. "These are programs with a total investment of over 10 trillion. The proposal to allocate 55 trillion VND for the North-South express project, 7 trillion VND for the railways and 8 trillion VND for 27 other important projects from 80 trillion dong is improper. Funds for the above 27 works and for the railways may be allocated from the reserve fund. In cases where the Government deems it necessary, it shall be submitted to the National Assembly Standing Committee for consideration and decision," said Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Phung Quoc Hien.

Hà Lam