After several delays, Vietnam has a date for its biggest airport. Ho Chi Minh City, meanwhile, is asking private investors to build the roads that will feed it.
Vietnam has a date. The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) has notified Dong Nai authorities that Long Thanh International Airport will begin commercial operations at midnight on 24 December 2026. In its initial phase it can handle up to 366 flights a week, 322 domestic and 44 international. Navigation and runway-lighting tests took place between 11 and 19 October.
Long Thanh’s first phase represents an investment of about VND109.1 trillion, roughly $4.6 billion, and the airport is meant to relieve Tan Son Nhat, Ho Chi Minh City’s congested urban airfield, and to compete with Singapore and Bangkok for a share of Southeast Asia’s transfer traffic. The date comes after several delays: June was mentioned, then 1 December.
Why it matters
Long Thanh is the missing piece for southern Vietnam’s economic region, the country’s main industrial engine. Its opening and the push for private capital in access roads signal a change of model: the state builds the flagship asset and opens the network that feeds it to private investment. A clear opportunity for logistics operators, builders and concession investors.
Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City is looking for private capital for the rest of the puzzle. On 2 November it emerged that the People’s Committee is consulting on a draft resolution with incentives for transport and logistics infrastructure. Under a public-private partnership model, investors have already registered interest in widening four gateway roads — National Highways 1, 13 and 22 and the north–south trunk road — for about $2.32 billion. The city also plans hubs integrating metro lines with underground space at Ben Thanh, Tan Son Nhat and Thu Thiem, funded by land-value capture.
Sources: VietnamPlus (30 Oct) · VOV · Tuoi Tre (30 Oct) · Southeast Asia Infrastructure (2 Nov) · Highways Today