Long Thanh Airport: ACV Ordered to Review Workload, Penalize Failing Contractors

Overview

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Tuc has ordered a sprint-phase, 24/7 construction regime on the Long Thanh International Airport project, directing Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV, UPCOM) to immediately review all remaining contractor workload and to penalize contractors that fail to meet manpower, equipment, financing and schedule requirements. The instruction, issued at a site inspection and formalized in a Government Office notice, keeps Phase 1 on a mandatory 2026 operational deadline.

Key Facts

• Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Tuc ordered a “nước rút” (sprint) status with 24/7 construction on critical-path items of Long Thanh International Airport.
• ACV must review the entire remaining workload of all packages, especially large critical-path packages, and build detailed progress schedules per item.
• ACV’s detailed report is due before 10 October 2026, submitted to the Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Finance and relevant management agencies.
• Contractors must mobilize maximum labor, machinery, equipment, materials and financial resources, working three shifts and four crews (3 ca 4 kíp) with additional work fronts.
• Contractors failing on personnel, equipment, finance or schedule must be handled decisively, with contract-breach penalties applied where necessary.
• Phase 1 of the airport must be completed and put into operation in 2026, per the approved investment policy.
• The directive covers the airport and connecting road routes across Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai Province.

What Happened

The Government Office issued a notice concluding the remarks of Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Tuc following a site inspection and progress review of the Long Thanh International Airport project and its connecting transport routes in Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai Province. According to the notice, the approved investment policy requires Phase 1 to be completed and operational in 2026, a mandatory task the government describes as heavy and challenging given the large remaining workload and limited time.

The Deputy Prime Minister instructed ministries, agencies, localities, the project owner, contractors and related units to shift into sprint mode and accelerate, organizing 24/7 construction on critical-path items and controlling progress daily by work item and package. ACV was specifically tasked with reviewing remaining volumes, defining which items must be finished for commercial operation, and setting trial-run and commercial-operation dates. The notice also stressed that quality, safety, security and environmental standards must not be sacrificed for schedule, and that contractors unable to meet requirements face contract-breach handling under law.

Market Context

ACV, listed on UPCOM, closed at VND 40,900 on 7 October 2026. As the state-owned operator of Vietnam’s airport network and the project owner for Long Thanh, ACV sits at the center of the country’s largest infrastructure program, and its share price has historically traded on news flow around airport capacity, capital expenditure and pandemic-era recovery in passenger volumes. The directive reinforces that the state will prioritize schedule discipline and contractor accountability, a theme relevant across Vietnam’s construction and infrastructure complex as public investment disbursement remains a key policy lever for the broader market.

Strategic Significance

For long-term investors, the directive signals that the state will not allow Long Thanh’s 2026 deadline to slip, which supports the case for ACV’s medium-term earnings base once the airport begins commercial operations and relieves capacity pressure on Tan Son Nhat. The explicit threat of contract penalties for underperforming contractors also implies potential cost and schedule risk redistribution across the contractor pool, with stronger, better-capitalized firms likely to absorb additional workload. The requirement for ACV to define trial-run and commercial-operation milestones gives investors a concrete timeline to track rather than a vague policy aspiration.

What to Watch

• ACV’s detailed progress report to the Ministry of Construction and Ministry of Finance, due before 10 October 2026.
• Any formal contract-breach notices or contractor replacements announced by ACV.
• Confirmation of trial-run and commercial-operation dates for Phase 1.
• Disbursement data for the project and connecting road packages in Dong Nai Province and Ho Chi Minh City.
• ACV’s next quarterly earnings release and any updated capital expenditure guidance.