Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway: Roadmap to finish in 2026

The Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway project has achieved overall progress of more than 88%, aiming to complete the entire route by September 2026 after removing obstacles at Phuoc Khanh Bridge.

Overview of progress and new completion milestones

The Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway project, one of the key infrastructure projects in the South, has achieved an overall construction output of approximately 88.23%, equivalent to VND 14,017 billion out of a total value of VND 15,887 billion. According to the latest adjustment decision by the Ministry of Transport in early 2025, the completion date for the entire project has been postponed to the end of September 2026.

This expressway is nearly 58 km long, passing through three localities: Long An (2.7 km), Ho Chi Minh City (26.4 km), and Dong Nai (28.7 km). The section through Nhon Trach district, Dong Nai province, is over 22 km long and is currently in the final stages of completion after obstacles were removed.

The Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway is approximately 58 km long, passing through the provinces of Long An, Ho Chi Minh City, and Dong Nai .

Updates on the construction progress of the main contract packages.

To date, the project has completed 8 packages (A1-1, A2-1, A3, J2, A5, A6-1, A6-4 and A7). Currently, 5 other packages are under construction (A2.2-4, A6-2, A6-3, A6-5 and A8), achieving an average output of 66.8% and are expected to be completed in Q2/2025.

For major bridge projects, package J1 (Binh Khanh Bridge) has reached 88.25% completion and is expected to be finished in August 2025. Meanwhile, the Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3 component project through Dong Nai, with a direct interchange connecting to the expressway at Nhon Trach, is also 8.4% ahead of schedule after completing 100% of land clearance.

The intersection between Ho Chi Minh City's Ring Road 3 and the Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway in Nhon Trach district is also the end point of Ho Chi Minh City's Ring Road 3.

Sections of the route that have been opened to traffic and future plans.

On February 7th, the Vietnam Expressway Investment and Development Corporation (VEC) officially opened and put into operation two sections of the expressway with a total length of 10.4 km. Specifically:

• Western section: 3.4 km long, connecting from the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong expressway interchange (Ben Luc district, Long An province) to National Highway 1 (Binh Chanh district, Ho Chi Minh City).
• Eastern section: 7 km long, connecting from Phuoc An intersection (Nhon Trach district, Dong Nai province) to National Highway 51 (Long Thanh district, Dong Nai province).

According to the plan, the western (from Km3+420 to Km21+739.5) and eastern (from Km35+900 to Km50+530) sections, with a total length of nearly 33 km, are expected to be completed before April 30th of this year.

On February 7th, VEC held an opening ceremony, putting into operation two sections of the Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway Project with a total length of 10.4 km.

The bottleneck at Phuoc Khanh Bridge and solutions.

Package J3, the construction of the Phuoc Khanh bridge across the Long Tau river (connecting Can Gio district, Ho Chi Minh City and Nhon Trach district, Dong Nai province), is the most complex item and has the greatest impact on the overall project progress. This is a large cable-stayed bridge with the highest clearance for navigation in Vietnam (55m), requiring complex construction techniques.

After completing the legal procedures, VEC expects to restart construction of package J3-1 in March 2025. Due to its complex nature, VEC has proposed adjusting the completion time of the entire project to September 30, 2026, to account for potential difficulties that may arise during the construction of the Phuoc Khanh bridge.

Phuoc Khanh Bridge is a large cable-stayed bridge with the highest clearance for ship traffic in Vietnam (55 m), so its construction will be challenging.

Technical specifications and strategic role

The Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway is being built to Class A expressway standards, with 4 lanes and 2 emergency stopping lanes, and a design speed of 100 km/h. The total investment for phase 1 of the project is approximately 31,320 billion VND. Upon completion, the route will help connect the national expressway network, alleviate congestion on National Highway 1 and National Highway 51, and significantly shorten travel time from the Mekong Delta provinces to Dong Nai and Ba Ria - Vung Tau.

The route is being built with 4 lanes, 2 emergency stopping lanes, a design speed of 100 km/h, and a total investment of approximately 31,320 billion VND for phase 1.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/cao-toc-ben-luc-long-thanh-lo-trinh-ve-dich-vao-nam-2026-397980.html