Layout plan for Long Thanh terminal. Photo by the Airports Corporation of Vietnam.

Japan is interested in the Long Thanh International Airport in Dong Nai Province - whose construction the government wants to start soon - Japan's Secretary of State Tsukasa Akimoto told Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong at a recent meeting.

It also wants to invest in Vietnam's high-speed north-south railway, Akimoto noted.

The Ministry of Transport is set to report on the high-speed railway to the National Assembly next year, Dong said.

It is also consulting various agencies, including Japanese, on a feasibility study for Long Thanh Airport, which is expected to be approved by the government at the end of next year, he added.

Long Thanh Airport is set to be built in three phases over three decades.

The first part is scheduled for completion in 2025, at the end of which the new airport will be able to handle 25 million passengers a year. The next two phases will run from 2030 to 2035 and from 2040 to 2050.

Regarding the railway project, for the 2020-2030 phase, construction will begin with electrified train operating at speeds ranging from 160 kilometers per hour to less than 200 kilometers per hour.

It is envisioned that the railway will be completed by 2050. After that, it is expected that the train can run at a maximum speed of 350 kilometers per hour.

Almost 1,800 Japanese businesses had invested in Vietnam as of June this year, the highest among ASEAN countries, according to the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in ASEAN (FJCCIA).

This number accounts for 24.6 percent of a total number of Japanese firms investing in ASEAN countries, FJCCIA said.

Source: VnExpress