In its environmental impact report for the airport project, approved in 2019, ACV had proposed several dust reduction measures including fencing the construction area, dampening the material storage area and covering vehicles and construction materials at night. Deputy general director of ACV, Do Tat Binh, said all contractors had been required to take measures to reduce air pollution but that spread of dust was inevitable during the site clearance phase, saying, “The dust is only bad in the dry season when we speed up construction work with more than 1,800 vehicles and machines operating at the same time.” He said the dust problem would be solved by March; by this time site clearance was expected to be 70% complete and the construction area would be reduced [1].

Neighbourhoods shrouded in dust

Yet by the end of March 2023 residents of neighbourhoods near the airport construction site had been shrouded in dust for several months. The primary school at the heart of the Binh Son Commune was worst affected by dust. Doors were kept closed for the entire day but dust still seeped in. “It’s impossible to clean” said a school security guard, “The dust is everywhere and comes at all times. I don’t know when this will end” [2]. About 1 kilometre away from the construction site, red dust covered the roof and garden of Nguyen Thi Cuc’s family home. Another home in the neighbourhood used plastic sheeting to keep dust out. Locals said the dust problem began in March 2022 and the levels had increased markedly in the previous two months. Nguyen Thi Anh, seller of rice noodles, had covered everything in plastic bags but the number of customers had reduced. “In the afternoon, every gust would cause the dust to clog the sky”, Anh said, “Many customers ran away even while eating, so I had to cover everything to keep the dust out.” Nguyen Dinh Ha was cleaning tables and chairs in his store with water multiple times each day. “For over the past month, the amount of dust has increased so much more than before, making customers come to our store less often,” he said [2].

Seven kilometres away from the construction site the lives of people in the Loc An-Ninh Son relocation area (a resettlement site for people displaced by Long Thanh Airport) were still severely impacted by dust. Furthermore, dust from the airport site impaired vision for drivers on two major highways. Do Tat Binh, head of the management board of the Long Thanh Airport project, said big gusts of winds and the dry season meant more dust was being produced. Binh said, “We have requested construction units to spray water more [to keep the dust from spreading] but the measure has not been effective as the site area is too big.” He said he would order suspension of work at night and a reduction in vehicles operating at the site during the day [2].

Pulmonologist Trần Văn Ngọc, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Lung Association, said exposure to dust on a daily bass can severely affect people’s health, causing damage to the lining of the respiratory tract or leading to pneumonia, lung infection or pulmonary fibrosis. He said that the immediate solutions for residents in affected area are wearing masks, using covers to block dust and removing dust with vacuum cleaners. He also drew attention to the necessity of preventing generation of dust, saying, “The most important thing for the long term is to eliminate what causes the dust cloud, and the project must put in place measures to prevent dust from being released into the environment” [3].

Dust impacts on communities several kilometres away

Some inhabitants of Bin Son Commune resorted to using tarpaulins to shield their homes from dust. Dang Thi Lan Phurong, living with her husband and elderly mother, had spent about USD213 on poles and tarpaulins to enclose their home, a task that took a week to complete. Phurong also said that schoolchildren were returning home with red-stained clothing and many of them had developed coughs and breathing difficulties due to the dust. Another resident, Nguyen Huu Linh, purchased a high-capacity water-pump to clean his family’s home and barn, but this was only effective to a certain extent and some dust remained. Linh said, “In the morning, I can feel the dust in my nose after waking up. When I’m outside, everything I touch is dusty, and clothes are dirty even if I just put them on for a while.” Dong Phurong, living 10 kilometres away, said, that even though his house was not in the communes affected by the red dust, sometimes he could see the sky turning red. He said “That is only what is visible to the naked eye. Data on the smaller, fine dust can only be collected with environmental monitoring devices.” A local leader from Long Thanh District People’s Committee said a report was being compiled specifying the number of households affected by the dust, which would be submitted to the MoNRE before a conclusion was made on whether ACV was violating environmental protection law [3].

Videos of dust storms and a blanket of dust

A video with interviews of a few residents ‘besieged by dust storms’, shows green roofs turned red and dust plumes rising “like a fire” from the construction site. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh described the dust problem as “terrible” and being unable to see clearly. Red dust was negatively impacting the lives of many people within a 10-kilometre radius of the airport site. A teacher at Binh Son Primary School said pupils’ books were “terribly dirty". Pupils’ hands were always red and they were not comfortable with wearing face masks. Ten people cleaned the school three times every day but dust got into every corner. A mother had spent a lot of money on medicine for her child attending school but he kept coughing. Another resident spoke of dust on every surface, covering pots and bowls used for cooking and eating. Trees were also covered in dust. Many residents had covered their homes with canvas sheeting [4].

Another video shows a blanket of dust hanging in the air and coating homes and a school, extending as far as 10 kilometres from the site. Local resident Tran Ming Hoang said before airport construction started air quality in the area was good, but now it was “unbearable”. Trucks carrying soil on the site are uncovered and stir up clouds of dust. Another resident, Nguyen Thi Tuyet Hanh said they were coughing even more than during Covid times and worried that children, and even adults, could easily become sick because of the dust. She said it will be another two of three years until the airport is completed and they “could not bear the red dust”. Efforts to address the dust problem, such as spraying water and deployment of trucks to dampen the ground to reduce airborne dust, had been ineffective, with project leaders saying the project site was too big [5]. A video filmed on the airport site shows a red dust “tornado”; a tall, dense, rotating plume of dust. Clouds of dust are generated when a bulldozer pours red soil into a truck. Footage from a moving vehicle shows areas of the site under a heavy haze of dust. Trucks pump water onto part of the site [6].

FDI firms complain about dust

At the beginning of April 2023 several FDI (foreign direct investment) enterprises located in the Loc An - Binh Son Industrial Park complained about dust arising from levelling of the airport site, saying it affected their products and workers’ health. At a meeting with the provincial People’s Committee, Doan Huong Gaing of Elite Long Thanh Co. Ltd. said “dust has caused a great impact on our products. We expect the provincial authorities, departments, and agencies to come up with appropriate solutions to support Elite and other companies in preventing dust from affecting laborers’ health, product quality, and business activities.” Many other businesses shared these views [7].

Dust mitigation measures

On 31st March deputy director of ACV, Do Tat Binh, said that firefighter trucks would be dispatched to spray water on the ground to minimise production of dust at the construction site. He said airport construction was being hastened before commencement of the dry season, which would cause distribution of even more dust due to dry weather and high winds. As several neighbourhoods are affected by the dust ACV will cooperate with local authorities to provide support for severely impacted households, using a budget derived from ACV’s social security fund. Vo Tan Duc, deputy chairman of Dong Nai People’s Committee, said as well as people in the Long Thanh District, regions dozens of kilometres away, such as Nhon and Bien Hon, were also affected [8].

Deputy Minister of Transport Le Anh Tran announced requirements for contractors to reduce dust: increasing watering at the construction site and reviewing the construction process and environmental impact assessment documents. Under the Ministry of Transport, the Transport Construction Investment Management Authority was assigned to monitor progress. The working delegation of MoNRE also required the project investor to comply strictly with environmental protection regulations and licenses for underground resources exploitation [9].

Reservoirs and air conditioners

By 5th April 10 reservoirs had been built to provide water for spraying dust generated by Long Thanh Airport construction works. The reservoirs will provide water for 60 trucks, including two fire trucks, to spray the ground. Each reservoir has capacity to store 1,200 cubic metres of water, which will be drained from wells. Lt. Col. Vo Thanh Pong, director of the management board of a contract package to level ground and build the drainage system for the airport project, said, “Together, the 10 reservoirs can guarantee enough water to spray the ground over the entire project.” He added that a stone road 78 kilometres in length was being built to reduce dust generated by trucks carrying materials to and from the site. An inspection team from MoNRE had concluded that workers had failed to water the site adequately during the process of levelling an area of more than 2,500 hectares [10].

It was also announced that air conditioners will be installed at some schools near the construction site, to prevent dust from entering classrooms. After installation of the air conditioners windows and doors at these schools will be closed. The Long Thanh District tasked the local education and training office to make a list of schools affected by the dust. Air quality in affected areas had not yet improved and MoNRE was due to issue conclusions on ACV’s compliance with environmental protection regulation during execution of the airport project by the end of April 2023 [11]. At a meeting held on 11th April addressing issues arising from Long Thanh Airport project deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha said that ACV had performed well regarding site clearance and meeting the project schedule. He also said that ACV and contractors need to urgently apply measures to prevent dust pollution [12].

Farmers in Binh Son Commune grappled with pervasive red dust from the airport construction site. Dust had stuck to mangosteen and rambutan leaves just as the trees began to bear fruit. Phạm Quốc Trọng, owner of three hectares of durian said the trees had not developed properly and more than half of the fruit had fallen. He and other farmers attempted to wash their trees, spraying them with water which was of limited effectiveness. Trong cleaned his trees from 2am to 8am each day, consuming a lot of water and electricity. Other crops in Binh Son Commune were affected, including jackfruit, lychee, banana and sapodilla. Hoàng Văn Hùng, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Bình Son Commune, said the local authority had conducted surveys and reported to the Airport Project Management Board to help people calculate the damage caused by the dust and would work to support local farmers [13].

On 18th April Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh ordered an investigation into delays in construction of Long Thanh Airport, requiring ACV, the Ministry of Transport and the Committee for Management of State Capital at Enterprises to explain the causes as well as the units and individuals responsible. ACV said limited site clearance had slowed down construction works. Slow progress was mainly caused by issues relating to resettlement of affected families; many lacked papers proving legal ownership of their property, impeding completion of compensation and relocation [14].

A few households refuse relocation

As of April 2023, a few households refuse to be relocated for the airport. Their residences remain on the project site surrounded by the higher, levelled, red soil surface and covered in dust. Two of these households are still occupied, by Do Thi Yen, a single mother who has lived in the Binh Son Commune since 1975 and Le Minh Quang who said he experienced difficult living conditions because of the dust and degraded roads. Three other houses are unoccupied but the owners have yet to hand over their land to local authorities. Duong Ngoc Duc, vice-chairman of the Binh Son Commune People's Committee, said commune and district authorities had called repeatedly on residents to leave their land. He said, “We have given adequate explanation and replied to their comments, but these households failed to follow regulations on compensation and resettlement that were approved by the province. They have demanded more compensation than the regulated levels.” Le Van Tiep, chairman of Long Thanh District, said the Long Thanh People’s Committee had repeatedly attempted, in vain, to persuade residents to move out of the construction site [15].

By late January 2023 the Dong Nai Province had handed over 2,430 hectares of the 2,532 hectares of land required for the first phase of the Long Thanh Airport project, scheduled for completion in 2025. During the project planning stage, in October 2015, it was estimated that 1,800 households would be affected by land acquisition for the first phase. In total, 5,000 hectares of land is required for construction of Long Thanh Airport, with the final phase scheduled for completion by 2050. In 2019 the Dong Nai Province estimated that completion of the full airport project entails land acquisition displacing more than 5,000 households consisting of approximately 15,000 people, 70% of them being engaged in farming [16].

On 18th April 2023 Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh ordered Dong Nai Province to complete transfer of all land required to build the airport before 30th June. ACV said that of the total 5,000 hectares needed for the entire project, more than 4,700 hectares had been cleared and transferred. Incomplete site clearance, mainly due to issues related to resettlement, had slowed down construction of the cargo terminal, delivery depot, aircraft cleaning area, and ground equipment maintenance zone. Another reason for delay for the airport project was failure to find a builder. A call for bids was issued in September 2022 but no candidates had met the requirements to carry out the project. According to ACV local contractors lack experience in special projects like airports while several foreign contractors consider the 2025 deadline to be impractical [15].