Chinh called for taking advantage of the current momentum to save time, effort, and resources, ensuring the 50-km road connecting the airport to downtown Hanoi is completed within two years.

This timeline is essential to showcase Vietnam’s image to international partners, attract investment, and boost tourism, he said while chairing a meeting in Hanoi on Sunday, where ministries, agencies, and local authorities convened to discuss the construction of the Gia Binh airport, a project that broke ground on Dec. 10, 2024.

To expedite progress, he proposed considering special mechanisms and policies, ensuring swift decision-making procedures at all levels of authority to push for rapid construction while maintaining quality, safety, and environmental sustainability.

Designed as a multi-functional, dual-use facility with a specialized classification equivalent to 4E – a global standard for large airports, the Gia Binh airport is set to play a pivotal role in the nation’s defense-security infrastructure and socio-economic development.

As a national key project, the airport will serve training and combat readiness missions for the People’s Public Security Air Force and act as a backup for the Ministry of National Defense’s Air Defense – Air Force Service and regional airports during emergencies. It will also accommodate special flights for Party and State leaders, and foreign dignitaries, and when conditions allow, facilitate cargo and passenger transport.

Addressing the meeting, Chinh highlighted the urgent need for an additional dual-use airport in the Red River Delta, a key economic engine of northern Vietnam with Hanoi at its center. Currently, Noi Bai International Airport is the sole airport serving the region, and despite recent expansions, it remains under immense pressure due to rapid growth.

The development of the Gia Binh airport is crucial to alleviating congestion at Noi Bai and support both national defense and economic development, he stressed.

Affirming the solid practical, political and legal foundations for developing the Gia Binh airport to international 4E standards, the PM stressed the need to immediately begin the planning for the second phase, even as the first phase is still under construction.

He also envisioned the development of a modern, intelligent logistics hub at the airport to support e-commerce.