Incheon Airport to consult for Vietnam's $13B Long Thanh project

Incheon International Airport Corporation was selected to provide consulting for $13 billion Long Thanh Airport project in Vietnam.

Design plan for Vietnam's Long Thanh International Airport, which is currently under construction [INCHEON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT CORPORATION]

Incheon International Airport Corporation has been selected as the preferred bidder to conduct management consulting for Vietnam’s 18.3 trillion won ($13 billion) Long Thanh International Airport project.

The selection makes Incheon International Airport the most viable contender to the Airports Corporation of Vietnam's global search for an advisory partner. Korea’s airport operator was bidding against France’s Groupe ADP and Germany’s Fraport AG. It was selected — alongside Vietnam's PMI Consulting Service Corporation, the construction company in charge of the basic design of the new airport's passenger terminal — after receiving overall top marks for technology and price, Incheon International Airport said. Incheon International Airport expects the deal to bring in 11 billion won for the management consulting job.

In addition to consulting, the operator will help the airport prepare to start operations after construction is finished, a process known as operational readiness and airport transfer (ORAT). The project will involve setting the airport's internal operating standards, which will heavily impact passengers' experience once the facility opens.

Design plan for Vietnam's Long Thanh International Airport, which is set to finish its first stage of construction by 2026 [INCHEON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT CORPORATION]

Long Thanh International Airport is currently under construction 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Ho Chi Minh City as a new gateway airport aiming to reduce traffic from the city’s existing Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

The airport's construction will take place in three stages. The first, which includes one airstrip and one passenger terminal, is slated for completion by the third quarter of 2026. Four airstrips and four passenger terminals are scheduled to finish by 2050.

The management consulting partnership will run for two years.

“This consulting business, if selected for, is expected to be a new hub in the Southeast Asian region,” Incheon International Airport Corporation President Lee Hak-jae said through a news release. “We will expand our overseas business as a global firm specializing in airports with the aim of running at least 10 overseas airports by 2040.”

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]