Major challenges at the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh Expressway Expansion Project

Despite having to work under conditions that combine the highest traffic volume in the country with significant pressure from fluctuating fuel and material prices, the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh Expressway expansion project is still on track with the planned schedule after 6 months since its commencement.

Long Thanh 2 Bridge at the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh Expressway Expansion Project (Photo: Le Toan)

Deadline pressure

Although it was only a little after 7 a.m., the sound of machinery from 400-ton crawler cranes mounted on barges on the Long Thanh 2 bridge construction site was already resounding, mixed with the hurried greetings of workers starting their new shift, echoing across the Dong Nai River.

With only a few weeks left before the rainy season begins in the Southeast region, construction at package XL01 (Km4+000 - Km13+900) of the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh Expressway expansion project, with Long Thanh 2 Bridge as its "heart," is being accelerated to ensure the timely completion of critical road sections.

Mr. Nguyen Phuong Vinh, Deputy Director of the Southern Project Management Board under the Vietnam Expressway Investment and Development Corporation (VEC), the investor of the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh Expressway expansion project, said that the overall project timeline is 18 months, but in reality, the construction site only has one dry season. Therefore, the construction units must complete the foundation and roadbed (for the road section) and the foundation and pillars (for the bridge section) by mid-May 2026, before the rainy season begins.

It should be added that, in the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh Expressway Expansion Project, the main bottleneck in the progress lies in the construction of Long Thanh 2 Bridge, the largest river crossing bridge project in the Southern region today.

Specifically, the Long Thanh 2 bridge is approximately 2.34 km long, with the main span crossing the Dong Nai River arranged according to the scheme (80 m + 4 × 150 m + 80 m), with the largest span reaching 150 m, sufficient for the world's largest luxury cruise ships to navigate and dock at ports in Ho Chi Minh City.

The challenge for Vietnamese contractors at the Long Thanh 2 bridge project is the construction of the bridge piers in the middle of the river, each approximately 38-42 meters high from the base to the top. Including the foundation, each pier is a massive concrete structure, equivalent in height to a 10-12 story building, embedded 70-80 meters deep in the riverbed, requiring complex construction techniques and strict quality control.

Given the technical expertise of Vietnamese bridge and road builders, constructing the Long Thanh 2 bridge is not overly difficult. However, the challenge lies in the project's timeline, especially when compared to other large-scale river crossing bridges in the region, such as the Long Thanh bridge (constructed in 48 months) and the Nhon Trach bridge, which opened on September 18, 2025 (constructed in 32 months).

With the requirement to complete the project within 18 months to synchronize with the operational timeline of Long Thanh International Airport, the construction of Long Thanh 2 Bridge has virtually no buffer time. Any mistake, any delay of even one week in construction, could cost the entire project its timeframe.

"Therefore, in addition to selecting the best bridge construction contractors in Vietnam today, VEC has required the construction unit to work 3 shifts, 4 teams, with the bridge piers crossing the river being constructed simultaneously, each pier with a separate construction team, with a synchronized equipment system including cranes, large-diameter pile drills and a separate concrete production line located right on barges floating on the river," Mr. Vinh said.

Thanks to maintaining strict construction discipline and rational site organization, by the end of March 2026, the progress of Long Thanh 2 Bridge and other main components of the Project were basically on track with the set plan.

Specifically, on the approach bridge section, 221 out of 351 bored piles have been completed; the construction of abutments and piers has reached 18 out of 44 foundations, 17 out of 44 shafts, and 11 out of 42 cap beams. The launching of girders has reached 5 out of 42 spans, while the transverse girders and bridge deck slabs have reached 3 out of 42 and 2 out of 42 spans, respectively.

For the main bridge, all 120/120 bored piles have been completed; the pier foundations have reached 4/5 piers, and the main body is under construction with a volume of approximately 0.37/5 piers (pier T21 has completed 1/5 segments, pier T22 has completed 1/6 segments).

"According to the plan, the main pillars will be completed in June 2026, creating a foundation for the Long Thanh 2 bridge to be joined before December 31, 2026, and completing the remaining items before the Lunar New Year in 2027, thereby meeting the progress requirements set by the Government ," a VEC representative said.

Amidst the storm of rising material prices

According to Deputy Minister of Construction Pham Minh Ha, the fact that the Government allowed the expansion project of the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh expressway to be implemented under an emergency order clearly demonstrates the urgency of the project.

The goal of expanding nearly 22 km of the highway from 4 lanes to 8-10 lanes within 18 months, even under favorable conditions, is a significant challenge; it is even more difficult when the project is under construction, in operation, and simultaneously dealing with land acquisition issues.

In this context, VEC is required to continue maintaining the construction pace, adhering closely to the plan; taking advantage of favorable weather conditions to accelerate critical road sections, especially the Long Thanh bridge, while strengthening quality control and ensuring construction is carried out according to technical standards and design documents.

"The investor and the supervisory consulting unit need to strengthen the review of traffic safety, labor safety, and environmental hygiene, especially in conditions where construction and operation are taking place simultaneously," Mr. Ha noted.

According to Mr. Pham Hong Quang, General Director of VEC, after 6 months of implementation, the total project value reached approximately 33.84% of the total volume, with cumulative disbursements of about 2,620/7,745 billion VND. Besides the Long Thanh 2 bridge, the road section under package XL02 has basically completed the foundation reinforcement using deep cement-soil mixed piles (CDM), and simultaneous roadbed construction will begin in early March 2026.

Besides some land acquisition issues, the biggest challenge currently remains the supply of construction materials, especially construction stone. While the contractor has worked with registered quarries to secure sufficient earth and stone, the large volume of materials is concentrated in the Tan Cang area (Dong Nai province), resulting in high transportation volumes. Furthermore, strict control over quarrying activities poses significant obstacles in bringing materials to the construction site.

Furthermore, the published prices of construction materials in Dong Nai province still lag behind reality. In 2025, before the project was allocated, contractors mainly had to purchase materials at market prices, leading to difficulties in securing supply and preparing cost estimates. Some types of materials had published prices lower than the actual prices or lacked a complete range of options.

In particular, fuel prices have fluctuated sharply recently, while the construction price index for the first quarter of 2026 in Ho Chi Minh City and Long Thanh has not yet been announced by local construction departments, further increasing pressure on the progress and construction costs of contractors. This is truly a new and challenging battle for contractors working on the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh expressway expansion project, especially in the context of the Southeast region being the epicenter of rising material prices due to the simultaneous implementation of many large-scale infrastructure projects.

To maintain the construction pace, along with requiring the Southern Project Management Board to closely monitor localities to facilitate the supply of materials, VEC proposes that competent authorities promptly update fluctuations in the prices of raw materials, fuel, and labor in the area to provide a basis for application, resolve difficulties for contractors, and ensure a balance of interests between the State and enterprises.

VEC also requested the Southern Project Management Board to expedite acceptance and payment procedures to ensure continuous cash flow on the construction site, enabling contractors to accumulate fuel and proactively purchase essential supplies and materials in advance to mitigate the risk of price increases, especially in the context of the ongoing and complex Middle East conflict.

"Under any circumstances, we will do our utmost to essentially complete the entire Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh Expressway expansion project by December 2026, in time to serve people's convenient and safe access to Long Thanh International Airport," the VEC leader pledged.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/thu-thach-lon-tai-du-an-mo-rong-cao-toc-tphcm---long-thanh-d558350.html