Transport infrastructure - development momentum

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh inspects the construction progress of Long Thanh Airport Project in March 2025. Photo: P. Tung

The completed and under-construction highways, seaports and airports will help eliminate traffic “bottlenecks” and create new “runways” for the province to achieve its development “take-off” goal.

New look of transport infrastructure system

In 2015, the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway was officially put into operation, of which 42km through the province were the first kilometers of expressway in Dong Nai. This is also a milestone "marking" the transformation of the transport infrastructure system in the province. Previously, the province only had national highways, provincial roads, and district roads.

Nearly 8 years later, when the Dau Giay - Phan Thiet Expressway was completed and put into operation, Dong Nai officially had an additional 51km of expressway. In early 2025, more than 6km of the Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway Project, the section passing through the province, continued to be opened to traffic and put into operation.

In February 2025, Phuoc An Port - the province's largest seaport, welcomed its first ship.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh once emphasized that practice has proven that the construction of expressways has created an important driving force to help localities open up new economic and social development spaces in the area; many urban areas, industrial parks, service and tourism areas have been formed and are one of the attractive investment attraction products..., improving the efficiency of land exploitation and use, creating more jobs and livelihoods for people.

For Dong Nai, a dynamic economic development locality of the Southern Key Economic Zone, the role of the expressway system is even greater in connecting and creating development space. Therefore, nearly 100km of expressway completed and put into operation has created a new look for the transport infrastructure system in a synchronous and modern direction. That new look will continue to be "renewed" when the next dozens of kilometers of expressway will be completed in the near future.

According to the Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC), by the end of April 2025, about 33km more, including nearly 20km in Dong Nai province under the Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway Project, will continue to be opened to traffic and put into operation.

Along with that, by the end of this year, when the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway and Ring Road 3 - Ho Chi Minh City projects are basically completed, Dong Nai will have nearly 50km more expressway. Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Vo Tan Duc emphasized that the province's goal is to basically complete these two projects by the end of 2025.

In addition to the highway system, a special “dot” contributing to creating a new, modern look for the province’s transport infrastructure system is Long Thanh International Airport. As the country’s largest infrastructure project to date, Long Thanh Airport is expected to open a new “era” for air traffic in particular and the transport infrastructure system in general.

The project is targeted to be completed by the end of 2026, but at the request of the Prime Minister, the progress is being accelerated to basically complete by the end of 2025 and put into operation in the first half of 2026.

“Long Thanh Airport is a key national project. Investors, contractors and relevant ministries and branches need to thoroughly understand the project's unchanging goal of basically completing it in 2025 and putting it into commercial operation in the first half of 2026,” Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested.

Adding new "pieces" to complete the modern traffic picture

In early April, the Thang Long Project Management Board submitted a document to the Ministry of Construction for approval of the results of selecting an investor for the Dau Giay - Tan Phu Expressway Project Phase 1 under the public-private partnership (PPP) method. Accordingly, based on the evaluation of the bidding results, the Thang Long Project Management Board recommended that the Vietnam Road Administration approve the Truong Hai - Son Hai Transport Infrastructure Development and Construction Joint Venture as the investor for this project.

Nearly 7km of expressway belonging to the Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway Project passing through the province has been opened to traffic and put into operation in early 2025.

Besides the Dau Giay - Tan Phu Expressway Project, the Tan Phu - Bao Loc Expressway Project is being completed by the authorities to start construction in 2025.

Meanwhile, the Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 4 Project, the largest road project in the Southeast region, is accelerating the completion of the Pre-Feasibility Study Report to submit to the National Assembly for consideration and decision on investment policy at the 9th Session of the 15th National Assembly in May 2025.

According to the Department of Construction, the province is planning 5 expressways and 2 belt roads. With the 2 expressway projects Dau Giay - Tan Phu, Tan Phu - Bao Loc and belt road 4 - Ho Chi Minh City completing procedures to start construction, the expressway and belt road network in the province is ready to be "closed".

In the overall “picture” of the province’s transport network in the coming time, in addition to the road system, railways are also expected to create new development momentum for the province. According to the plan, in addition to the North-South railway line currently in operation, there will be 3 new railway lines built in the province, including: North-South high-speed railway; Bien Hoa - Vung Tau; Thu Thiem - Long Thanh. Of which, the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau and Thu Thiem - Long Thanh railway lines have been targeted by the Vietnam Railway Authority (Ministry of Construction) to start construction before 2030.

In addition to the above railway lines, the province is implementing procedures to invest in an urban railway (metro) connecting the metro line from Suoi Tien to Dong Nai. According to the proposed plan of the consulting unit, the total length of this metro line is nearly 21km, including 13 stations (including Station S0) and a depot with an area of ​​over 23 hectares. In which, the starting point of the line is connected from behind Suoi Tien Bus Station of Metro Line No. 1 of Ho Chi Minh City, the end point of the line ends at the depot expected to be in Ho Nai 3 commune, Trang Bom district. In which, the section from Station S0 to the depot in Ho Nai 3 commune has a length of nearly 19km.

Pham Tung

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/kinh-te/202504/ha-tang-giao-thong-suc-bat-phat-trien-d3f40f1/