Long Thanh Airport Faces Payment Hurdles on VND8.9 Trillion of Work

Vietnam's Long Thanh International Airport project is facing payment-processing obstacles affecting an estimated VND8.925 trillion in construction work, according to figures attributed to state airport operator ACV in Vietnamese reporting on 5 November 2026. The government has directed ministries to help resolve the inspection and valuation issues while maintaining its goal of bringing the airport's first phase into operation by the end of December.

The figure describes the value of work facing obstacles in acceptance and payment procedures, **not money proved missing, stolen or improperly paid**. Dân trí reported that the affected amount was part of more than VND10.430 trillion in work requiring resolution. It said the issues concern 12 of the 16 construction packages in project component 3.

The reported bottlenecks arose where manufacturers, product models, countries of origin, equipment specifications or designs differed from the original contracts. ACV sought an interministerial quality-inspection arrangement to provide the technical and legal basis for accepting work, reviewing additional costs and processing payments. The reporting says incomplete inspections and price appraisals have constrained contractors' cash flow and preparations for integrated operational testing.

The Government Office's 4 November letter 11231/VPCP-CN formally addresses obstacles at Long Thanh. Dân trí reports that it directed the public security, construction, finance, and science and technology ministries to examine and support ACV's proposal within their legal authority. The official document register confirms the letter's number, date and subject; the full signed attachment was not independently analysed for this report.

A second Government Office directive, 11272/VPCP-CN dated 5 November, addresses the airport's implementation timetable. The government's published summary says the construction ministry must direct ACV to prepare a safe and workable operating plan and coordinate a review of the conditions required to bring phase one into service before 31 December 2026. It also instructs the finance ministry's task force to keep working with other ministries to resolve project-payment difficulties.

The two instructions are related but not identical: one addresses the quality-inspection and payment process, while the other addresses wider readiness, safety and the operating timetable. Neither establishes that the VND8.925 trillion has already been approved for disbursement or that all 12 packages have failed quality checks.

The project has previously faced separate government-inspectorate scrutiny of contracting and construction practices. Those earlier findings should not be treated as proof that the newly described payment bottleneck is fraudulent or that the same contractors and packages are involved. No new criminal determination is established by the November directives.

The next records to check are ACV's itemised package-by-package payment schedule, the signed quality-assessment decision, inspection and valuation results, approved contract variations, actual disbursements, contractor explanations and operational-test certificates. The distinction between work performed, work accepted, payment certified and cash transferred will determine what the reported VND8.925 trillion represents as the year-end deadline approaches.