Long Thanh Airport is about to be inaugurated, how complete are the connecting routes?

Long Thanh Airport is preparing to inaugurate phase 1, a series of backbone routes are being accelerated for comprehensive synchronization and operation.

In just a few days, Long Thanh International Airport will enter its initial operational phase, expected to become the largest aviation gateway in the country. Along with the completion of the terminal and runway, connecting traffic routes are also being accelerated by ministries, branches and localities, ensuring smooth access as soon as the airport opens.

Construction of many "backbone" traffic routes is being accelerated to synchronize infrastructure in time for the operation of Long Thanh airport.

Two direct routes to the airport speed towards the finish line

December 19, the day Long Thanh airport welcomed its first flight, was also the technical opening of routes T1 and T2 of the third component project, with a total investment of over VND2,600 billion. These are the two most important ground gateways in the initial operational phase.

Route T1 is 4.3 km long, connecting directly from the west of the airport to Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway, National Highway 51 and Provincial Road 25C. Currently, the roadbed, road surface and green tree system of the median strip have been basically completed; major intersections are entering the closing stage. In particular, the project connecting Provincial Road 25C and the overpass over Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway is completing the final stages.

In early December, two key routes directly connecting Long Thanh airport were accelerated in construction, approaching the completion milestone.

Route T2 is 3.5 km long, connecting T1 to the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay Expressway, designed according to the 100 km/h expressway standard. The branch to the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay Expressway has been basically completed, while the overpass group leading to the Bien Hoa – Vung Tau Expressway is being reinforced to ensure technical traffic opening on schedule.

However, the greatest traffic pressure is currently concentrated on Highway 51 - the route through which most vehicles from Ba Ria - Vung Tau pass through T1 to access the airport. This route has been overloaded for many years, with many sections degraded. Dong Nai has approved an emergency repair plan, expected to start this month, with priority given to handling about 17 km of severe damage to be completed before Tet 2026, with the remaining section to be implemented in 2026.

The "backbone" expressway connecting Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh

In the connecting route group, the expressways and beltways are considered the “backbone”, responsible for carrying most of the traffic from Ho Chi Minh City to Long Thanh airport. This group includes the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay expressway, Bien Hoa – Vung Tau expressway, Ring Road 2 and Ring Road 3.

Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway is expanding from 4 lanes to 8 - 10 lanes.

Currently, the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh Expressway is almost the only access route for Ho Chi Minh City residents to Long Thanh Airport, and congestion often occurs at the An Phu intersection. Therefore, the project to upgrade the expressway is classified as group A, implemented as an emergency project, expanding the scale from 4 lanes to 8-10 lanes and building a new Long Thanh bridge to share the load with the existing bridge.

The project is invested by VEC, with a total investment of more than 16,300 billion VND (6,500 billion VND from the budget, 9,800 billion VND mobilized by VEC). According to the plan, the expressway will be basically completed by the end of 2026; the new Long Thanh bridge will be closed in December 2026 and fully completed in the first quarter of 2027.

Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway section through Ho Chi Minh City has been basically completed, ready to connect with Long Thanh airport.

For the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau expressway project, which is more than 53 km long and has a total investment of 17,800 billion VND, the route passes through Dong Nai and Ho Chi Minh City. The section passing through Dong Nai is more than 34 km long and is divided into 2 component projects invested by Project Management Board 85 and Project Management Board of Dong Nai province.

The 19.5 km long component project 3 through Ho Chi Minh City (formerly in Ba Ria - Vung Tau) has been technically opened to traffic since April and is expected to be operational in December 2025.

When completed in sync with the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay Expressway, the two expressways will form a complete connecting axis from Ho Chi Minh City to Long Thanh, opening a direct connection between the airport and the Cai Mep – Thi Vai port cluster. This is an important foundation for Long Thanh to develop into a regional aviation – seaport logistics center.

Ben Luc Expressway - the "gateway" of the West to Long Thanh airport

The Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway is nearly 58 km long, with a total investment of about 31,320 billion VND, playing a particularly important connecting role for the Mekong Delta, helping people in Tay Ninh, Vinh Long, Can Tho ... go directly to Long Thanh airport without having to go through the center of Ho Chi Minh City.

The project has now reached more than 90% of its volume; about 30 km have been exploited, including the western section (from Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong Expressway to Nguyen Van Tao) and the eastern section (from Phuoc An to National Highway 51). The remaining part is expected to be put into operation in the third quarter of 2026.

Ben Luc – Long Thanh Expressway only has the final “bottleneck” at Binh Khanh Bridge and Phuoc Khanh Bridge before the entire route is open.

This expressway connects directly to Bien Hoa – Vung Tau expressway at the intersection of National Highway 51, where an overpass is being built to ensure smooth traffic. Combined with Ring Road 3, the connecting axis forms an East-West inter-regional network, significantly shortening the journey from the West to the East and to Long Thanh airport.

Route 25C, Cat Lai Bridge and Cat Lai Ferry: the “Eastern Gate” of the airport

The connecting group including Highway 25C, Cat Lai Bridge and Ring Road 3 is considered the eastern approach to Long Thanh Airport, allowing people in Thu Duc, Thu Thiem and Cat Lai areas to move directly to the airport without having to go to Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh Expressway.

Cat Lai Bridge is the key infrastructure of this axis, 11.6 km long (of which the main bridge is 3 km long), with 8 lanes, a design speed of 80 km/h, and a total investment of more than 20,000 billion VND. The project is expected to start construction at the end of 2025 and be completed in 2028.

Cat Lai ferry is a "cross-river" route connecting to Long Thanh airport.

Road 25C is 2.15 km long, connecting from National Highway 51 to Huong Lo 19, with a total investment of 647 billion VND, including the reinforced concrete Ba Ky bridge. When completed, this route will significantly shorten the travel time from Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring provinces to Long Thanh airport.

While waiting for the construction of Cat Lai Bridge, the third approach still depends on Cat Lai ferry, combined with Ring Road 2 and the routes radiating to the center of Ho Chi Minh City. However, Cat Lai ferry is often overloaded during rush hour, making it difficult to meet the requirements of air passenger transport with its specific requirements of punctuality and stability.

National Highway 51, Provincial Road 25B and Ring Road 3

The fourth connection direction is via Provincial Road 25B (being expanded), combining National Highway 51 and Ring Road 3. The Provincial Road 25B upgrade project is more than 9.2 km long, with a total investment of nearly VND 1,500 billion, and is expected to be operational in 2026.

This route is expected to reduce the load on National Highway 51, divert traffic from Ho Chi Minh City, Nhon Trach, Dong Nai to the airport, and at the same time create momentum for satellite urban areas in the South of Dong Nai.

After more than 2 years of construction, the Ring Road 3 project through Dong Nai province is accelerating towards the finish line, ready to open the entire route to traffic before December 19, 2025.

The biggest limitation at present is that Highway 51 is often congested, especially at the intersections to the highway and the airport approach area. With the existing traffic volume, even though Highway 25B is expanded, the connection speed to Long Thanh still depends significantly on the ability of Highway 51 to "clear" the traffic.

Thu Thiem – Long Thanh Urban Railway

The Thu Thiem – Long Thanh light rail line is 42 km long, including 20 stations, with a total investment of about 3.4 billion USD, and a design speed of 120 km/h. The line can take passengers from Thu Thiem to Long Thanh airport in just 20–25 minutes, running along the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay Expressway and Ring Road 3.

With the ability to serve tens of thousands of passengers per hour, this railway line is considered the "key" to reducing pressure on the road system, while ensuring sustainability in traffic connection with the airport.

The Thu Thiem – Long Thanh light rail line is expected to reduce travel time to 20–25 minutes. In the photo: Metro line 1 (Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien).

The routes connecting Long Thanh airport are forming a multi-layered network - from highways, beltways to urban railways. This is the foundation for Long Thanh airport to not only replace Tan Son Nhat, but also become a regional logistics center.

Luong Y

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/san-bay-long-thanh-sap-khanh-thanh-cac-tuyen-duong-ket-noi-hoan-thien-toi-dau-ar991828.html