Long Thanh airport contractors face investigation into alleged massive fraud

Vietnam's Government Inspectorate has uncovered multiple violations in the ongoing construction of Long Thanh International Airport, including illegal subcontracting worth more than VND3.2 trillion (US$121.6 million) and breaches by project manager Airports Corporation of Vietnam. The findings are listed in an inspection report referred to the Ministry of Public Security on July 28 that verified compliance with laws and regulations during the first phase of construction.The first phase includes two runways, a passenger terminal, and supporting infrastructure with an annual capacity of 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tons of cargo. Construction was mostly completed in 2025.Inspectors found numerous violations in construction packages XD01 -- construction of the piling and pile cap items of the Air Traffic Control Tower, and XD02 -- construction of the main works, including tower body and other ancillary facilities, and associated works, under Sub-project 2. Long Thanh International Airport under construction in Dong Nai City, southern Vietnam, in May 2026. Photo by VnExpress/Phuoc Tuan The project management board approved changing of suppliers of certain construction materials, sometimes without specifying their origin, even without obtaining valuation results.Inspections of some machinery and equipment were incomplete, while others had expired registration or inspection certificates.Notably, Corporation 36 JSC transferred part of the XD02 contract, valued at VND75 billion, to another contractor without obtaining approval from authorities.Corporation 36 and consortium member Newtatco signed contracts with several other contractors to perform part of the XD02 package worth a combined VND99 billion, which the Government Inspectorate has called illegal subcontracting in violation of the Law on Bidding.In this bidding package, the Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation (VATM) took advance payments improperly, failing to promptly collect VND18 billion from Corporation 36 and VND4 billion from Newtatco.Additionally, VATM paid up to 90% of the contract value, amounting to VND 3.8 billion, for construction drawing designs to the Vietnam Construction Consultancy Corporation (VNCC). Furthermore, it accepted and paid for work that did not meet the required conditions, as the price appraisal dossiers lacked information regarding the brands and origins of materials, involving a total value of VND37 billion.It approved payments for construction materials worth VND37 billion despite valuation documents lacking information about their brands and origins.Under Package 5.6 of Sub-project 3, the consortium of contractors signed agreements with several other companies even before obtaining approval to appoint them as subcontractors.The latter included Hancorp, Vinaconex and Fecon, and their contracts were worth VND87 billion.Inspectors also identified irregularities in Package 5.10: The bidding documents contained numerous errors and had to be revised several times.The ACV failed to purchase construction insurance covering the full contract value, and some contractors did not obtain mandatory insurance for construction workers.The main contractors, Newtecons, Ricons, Hancorp, Vinaconex, ATAD Steel Structure JSC, and Phuc Hung, transferred contracted work worth VND1.596 trillion under Package 5.10 to other companies without prior approval.The Vietur consortium hired others to carry out a portion of the package worth VND1.652 trillion also in violation of the Law on Bidding.The consortium is a group of 10 contractors led by IC Ictas Group of Turkey, which won the contract for Package 5.10 to construct the passenger terminal.ACV, VATM held responsibleAccording to the Government Inspectorate, the project managers and consulting firms had failed to comply with legal procedures and contractual obligations.Deficiencies have identified in cost estimation, appraisal, contractor selection, quality management, contract administration, and advance payment management.The inspectors blamed the board of members of VATM, the board of directors of ACV and its designated president and vice presidents, project management boards, expert panels, relevant departments, consulting firms, and construction contractors for the violations. The headquarters of the Airports Corporation of Vietnam at 58 Truong Son Street, Tan Son Hoa Ward, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Quoc Thang In a separate criminal investigation of ACV’s functioning, the Police Department for Investigation of Corruption, Economic and Smuggling Crimes has put 31 people under probe for four offenses: violating bidding regulations causing serious consequences, offering bribes, accepting bribes, and embezzlement.They include ACV chairman Nguyen The Phiet and Nguyen Tien Viet, a board member, deputy general director in charge of operations, and director of the airport project management board.They are being investigated for "violating bidding regulations causing serious consequences" and "accepting bribes."Vinaconex said board member and deputy general director Nguyen Huu Toi and former chairman and deputy general director Duong Van Mau have been arrested on charges of "violating bidding regulations causing especially serious consequences."The police have accused Toi of paying money to the project manager to win contracts.The ACV has charter capital of more than VND35.8 trillion, with the government owning 95.41%.It manages the construction of the airport, a key national infrastructure project on 5,000 hectares at a cost of VND337 trillion.