The construction of a new airport in Vietnam’s southern province of Dong Nai has been delayed because of complex preparatory work, according to state media.

In a recent report to Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport, state-owned Airports Corporation of Vietnam said work on the Long Thanh International Airport will likely start in April 2021, news website Dau Tu reported.

That will put the VND336.6 trillion ($A21.2 billion) project at least two years behind the original schedule.

Long Thanh International Airport, about 40 kilometres from Ho Chi Minh City, is designed to serve 100 million passengers and five million tons of goods annually.

It is expected to replace the country’s currently biggest airport Tan Son Nhat, which reached its full capacity of 20 million passengers a year in 2013.

– with other agencies