HCM CITY: Vietnam has detained the chairman of state-controlled airport operator Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), Vu The Phiet, as part of an investigation into alleged serious violations of bidding regulations, the company said in a disclosure on Friday (March 6).
ACV said it had received notice from investigators under the Ministry of Public Security that Phiệt and Deputy General Director Nguyen Tien Viet had been placed in temporary detention.
Authorities are investigating the two men for alleged violations of bidding rules causing “particularly serious consequences”, including accusations that they accepted money to help contractors win tenders, according to the notice cited by the company.
The investigation involves the operator of most of Vietnam’s airports and comes as the country pushes ahead with large aviation infrastructure projects to support fast-growing air travel demand.
Nguyen Tien Viet is a board member and deputy general director responsible for overseeing ACV’s executive operations. He also heads the project management unit for the construction of Long Thanh International Airport, a major national infrastructure project east of HCM City.
ACV manages and operates 23 airports across Vietnam, including major international gateways such as Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Noi Bai International Airport and Danang International Airport.
The company is the main investor in the Long Thanh airport project, one of Việt Nam’s largest infrastructure developments. The airport, covering about 5,000ha, has a total planned investment of about VND336 trillion (US$12.8 billion).
The first phase includes two runways and a passenger terminal designed to handle 25 million passengers annually. Several components were completed in late 2025 and the airport is expected to begin commercial operations in mid-2026.
Phiet, 53, has worked in Vietnam’s aviation sector since the mid-1990s. He served as director of Noi Bai International Airport from 2012 to 2017 before becoming deputy general director and later general director of ACV in 2018. He was appointed chairman of the company in September 2024.
ACV has charter capital of more than VND35.8 trillion (US$1.36 billion). The Vietnamese state holds roughly 95.4 per cent of the company through the Ministry of Finance. The company’s shares have traded on Vietnam’s UPCoM market since 2016.
The probe comes as Vietnam accelerates investment in aviation infrastructure to support rising passenger demand and economic growth, with Long Thanh airport expected to become one of South-East Asia’s largest aviation hubs once fully completed. — Vietnam News/ANN
