The airport will be built in three phases over three decades, and is expected to become the country’s largest airport. The first phase is scheduled for completion in 2025, at which time the new airport will be able to handle 25 million passengers a year.  Once completed, the airport will have an annual capacity of 100 million passengers and five million tons of cargo. The first phase of construction is estimated to cost 4.8 billion USD. The government has assigned the Aviation Corporation of Vietnam to invest in the main components of the project.  If the proposal is approved, construction can begin in the first quarter of 2021. Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The said: "The construction of the Long Thanh international airport is expected to become an important national border gate and an international aviation transit hub of the region during the second and third phases of the project. In the first phase, a runway, together with a terminal with a capacity of 25 million passengers a year, and a cargo terminal of 1.2 million tons a year and other subsidiary sub-components will be built."