Infrastructure Overview of the Week: $10 Billion Airport Proposal in Chu Lai

Large-scale airport projects have been proposed.

Over the past week, many key transportation infrastructure projects across the country have made significant progress, most notably the proposals to build a new international airport with an investment of billions of USD.

Proposal to invest $10 billion in the Chu Lai airport complex.

The Party Committee of the Da Nang City People's Committee has submitted a report proposing the investment and operation of Chu Lai Airport under the public-private partnership (PPP) model. The project has an estimated total investment of approximately US$10 billion, comprising two main components: the construction of Chu Lai Airport (US$3.3 billion) and the development of the airport ecosystem (US$6.7 billion). This ecosystem includes a 225-hectare free trade zone, a 185-hectare ecological service urban area, and a 360-hectare industrial zone.

Ninh Binh submits proposal for international airport worth nearly $1 billion.

On December 8th, the Ninh Binh Provincial People's Committee submitted to the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Construction a proposal to study the feasibility of establishing Ninh Binh International Airport. The proposed location is in Liem Tuyen ward and Binh Luc and Binh My communes. The project has a planned area of approximately 664 hectares, with a preliminary total investment of approximately 23,216 billion VND. If approved, the project is expected to commence construction in 2027 and be operational in 2029.

The National Assembly approves the investment plan for Gia Binh Airport.

On December 11th, the National Assembly voted to approve the Resolution on the investment policy for the construction project of Gia Binh International Airport in Bac Ninh. According to the report, land clearance for approximately 922 hectares of agricultural land is expected to be completed in December 2025. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, with trial operation scheduled for February 2027.

Construction of Gia Binh Airport. (Photo courtesy: Ha Vu).

Ho Chi Minh City's transportation infrastructure is accelerating.

Ho Chi Minh City has also witnessed the acceleration of progress and the study for implementation of many important transportation infrastructure projects.

A series of expressways and ring roads have been started and completed.

According to the plan, on December 19th, a series of projects in Ho Chi Minh City will be launched, including the expansion of the Ho Chi Minh City – Trung Luong – My Thuan expressway, the Ho Chi Minh City – Moc Bai expressway, and the Tan Phu – Bao Loc expressway. At the same time, the Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3 project and the Bien Hoa – Vung Tau expressway are expected to be opened for technical traffic.

Urban development study around the 12 stations of Metro Line 2.

The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has issued a plan to implement Transport-Oriented Development (TOD) urban development areas along Metro Line 2 (Ben Thanh - Tham Luong). The study focuses on the area surrounding 12 stations, within a 1 km radius from the station center and Tham Luong Depot.

Ben Thanh Underground Station. (Photo courtesy of the Navy).

Approval of the investment plan for the Ben Thanh - Can Gio railway line.

The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has approved the investment plan and designated Vinspeed High-Speed Railway Investment and Development Joint Stock Company as the investor for the Ben Thanh - Can Gio railway line project. The project has a main line length of approximately 54 km, a design speed of 350 km/h, and an axle load of 17 tons/axle. The preliminary total investment is approximately VND 102,430 billion. Compensation and land clearance work is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2025.

The Rừng Sác Road - the Bến Thành - Cần Giờ railway line will run along this route. (Photo courtesy of the Navy).

Other key infrastructure projects

Hanoi: Accelerating land clearance for Ring Road 1, proposing two options for the Red River Boulevard.

In Hanoi, the Ring Road 1 project, specifically the Hoang Cau - Voi Phuc section, is currently undergoing land clearance and enforcement to ensure completion before December 15th. This section, over 2.2 km long, has a total investment of over 7,200 billion VND. Meanwhile, Deo Ca Group has proposed two route options for the Red River Scenic Boulevard project, with total investments of 288,000 billion VND and 348,000 billion VND respectively.

Dong Nai approves the construction of Dong Nai 2 bridge under the BT (Build-Transfer) model.

On December 10th, the Dong Nai Provincial People's Council approved the investment plan for the Long Hung Bridge (Dong Nai 2 Bridge) under a public-private partnership (PPP) and Build-Transfer (BT) contract. The project has a total investment of nearly 11,500 billion VND, a total length of approximately 9.8 km, of which the bridge section is 3.5 km long. Payment will be made using revenue from the auction of public land or public investment capital.

The area where the Dong Nai 2 bridge is planned to be built. (Photo courtesy of the Navy).

Tay Ninh proposes a Go Dau – Xa Mat expressway project worth nearly 10,300 billion VND.

The leaders of Tay Ninh province listened to a report proposing the investment policy for phase 1 of the Go Dau – Xa Mat expressway project using the PPP method, specifically a BOT contract. The route is approximately 65 km long, with a total estimated investment of over 10,266 billion VND, requiring the clearance of about 248 hectares.

Project route. (Photo: Long An Newspaper).

Ha Nam province is building a connecting axis to Hanoi's Ring Road 5.

The Ha Nam Investment and Construction Project Management Board has announced information regarding the construction project of the D3 road section, connecting the N2 road to the parallel road of Ring Road 5. This section is over 5 km long, with a total investment of over 693 billion VND from the provincial budget. The project is expected to be constructed within 36 months, from the fourth quarter of 2025 to the fourth quarter of 2027.