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Construction sites for Long Thành International Airport are facing a severe labor shortage, alongside rising input costs and payment/documentation bottlenecks between the investor and foreign contractors, according to the Vietnam Airports Corporation (ACV).
ACV said the biggest obstacle for the Long Thành International Airport project is a serious labor shortage. As of mid-April, all mobilized packages together had about 8,460 workers, meeting only 60% of the estimated demand of 14,000.
The shortage is attributed to intense competition for labor with other major regional infrastructure projects, including the Bien Hoa–Vung Tau expressway and Ho Chi Minh City Beltway 3. ACV also cited outdoor working conditions—heat and dust—which make it difficult to retain technicians and workers, with many leaving to switch to other projects.
At Package 5.10 (the passenger terminal), the consortium mobilized 5,300 workers before Tet 2026, but the figure dropped sharply to 1,500 after Tet. To date, despite efforts to replenish, the workforce at this package stands at about 3,400, while actual needs rise to up to 6,000 workers for installation and equipment.
Package 4.8 (intra-port traffic) is also short, with 1,200 workers compared with a requirement of 1,900.
The project is additionally facing shortages in design and supervision consulting, which ACV said directly affects quality management and the overall payment processes.
Beyond labor constraints, the project is being hit by fuel price increases that have almost doubled. Transport costs for materials such as stone, sand, and steel—sourced from mines in Đồng Nai and Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu—have increased by 15–25%.
ACV noted that asphalt concrete, the main material for runways and connecting roads, has risen 40–50% compared with before.
Because most packages are signed under fixed-price contracts, price volatility forces contractors to subsidize losses from their own pockets. ACV said this has contributed to an on-site “stop-work” mentality, with contractors waiting for stable supply or for price adjustment mechanisms from the regulator.
ACV described document processing and payments as the biggest bottleneck between the investor and foreign contractors.
From the legal entity and design perspective, for Package 5.10, the VIETUR contractor is missing a lead designer with sufficient capacity under Vietnamese law. Although the contractor proposed using Turkish experts as replacements, the permit transfer process faced many obstacles.
ACV also said some equipment suppliers lack legal person status, delaying import and installation by up to three months.
Contractors involved in Packages 4.6 and 4.7 have already been paid beyond 60% of the contract value. However, the Prime Minister directed the Ministry of Finance to set up a special task force to address issues related to Package 5.10.
To avoid delaying the project, ACV proposed that the Deputy Prime Minister, the Standing Government, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Finance issue specific guidance on payments. ACV warned that if liquidity is not released, contractors will not have the capacity to maintain construction, which could severely impact the target to bring Long Thành International Airport into commercial operation on schedule.
The Long Thành International Airport project was approved by the National Assembly in 2015, with total investment of more than $16 billion, planned on nearly 5,000 hectares in Đồng Nai. It is implemented in three phases: 2021–2026; 2030–2035; and 2035–2045.
Phase 1 is expected to be completed in September this year, with commercial operation expected in Q4 this year.
On operations, ACV proposed a two-step plan between Tân Sơn Nhất and Long Thành. The first phase (1/12/2026–27/3/2027) would move all long-haul international flights and cargo to Long Thành, accounting for about 19% of international passenger traffic in the Ho Chi Minh City area.
Caption: The construction site of Long Thành Airport. The project is facing hurdles in documentation and payments between the investor and foreign contractors.
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