Dong Nai proposes special mechanisms to extend metro line to the Provincial Administrative Center and Long Thanh Airport

Dong Nai Province has proposed supplementing the contents of Resolution No. 98/2023/QH15 to allow the Dong Nai Provincial People’s Committee to apply special mechanisms and policies under Resolution No. 188/2025/QH15. This undertaking aims to accelerate the implementation of the project, extending the Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien metro line to the Provincial Administrative Center and Long Thanh International Airport.

The project to extend the Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien metro line to the Dong Nai Provincial Administrative Center and Long Thanh Airport is currently under study, with a planned total route length of about 63km. File Photo

On December 5, 2025, the Provincial People’s Committee issued Document No. 11333/UBND-KTN to the National Assembly’s Committee for Economic and Financial Affairs and the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, requesting the inclusion of additional content in the amended Resolution No. 98/2023/QH15 on piloting several special mechanisms and policies for the development of Ho Chi Minh City. Specifically, the proposal seeks to allow the project extending the Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien metro line to the Provincial Administrative Center and Long Thanh Airport to benefit from the special and exceptional mechanisms outlined in Resolution No. 188/2025/QH15 of the National Assembly, which pilots specific special and exceptional mechanisms and policies for the development of the urban railway network in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

According to the Provincial People’s Committee, in implementing the Prime Minister’s conclusions, the province is working with the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee to study the shortest possible urban railway route connecting Tan Son Nhat Airport and Long Thanh Airport. Specifically, from the T3 Terminal at Tan Son Nhat Airport, passengers would travel via Metro Line No. 6 to Thu Duc Station. From there, they would transfer to Urban Railway Line No. 1 (Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien), which would be extended to the Dong Nai Provincial Administrative Center and further connected to Long Thanh Airport.

The total route length is approximately 63km. The two localities will study operating several direct train services at fixed time slots, stopping only at two stations (the Dong Nai Provincial Administrative Center station and Thu Duc Station). The travel time between Long Thanh Airport and Tan Son Nhat Airport, in both directions, is estimated to be around 38–40 minutes.

On October 21, 2025, during a working session between the Standing Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee and the Standing Committee of the Dong Nai Provincial Party Committee, the two localities agreed to assign the Dong Nai Provincial People’s Committee as the competent authority for the railway project extending the Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien metro line to the Dong Nai Provincial Administrative Center and Long Thanh Airport. This initiative would establish an urban railway route connecting the two airports.

According to the Provincial People’s Committee, adding the project to extend the Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien metro line to the Provincial Administrative Center and Long Thanh Airport will enable Dong Nai to fully apply the special mechanisms outlined in the resolution. This undertaking, in turn, will help effectively mobilize social resources and revenues from land development under the TOD model; maximize the value of land and urban space along the metro corridor; and shorten investment preparation time through special procedural mechanisms.

At the same time, the project will create momentum for urban, service, and commercial development along the corridor connecting Ho Chi Minh City – Dong Nai – Long Thanh Airport; enhance interregional connectivity; and accelerate the establishment of an urban railway linking Tan Son Nhat Airport and Long Thanh Airport.

Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City has been assigned by the Prime Minister to implement the Thu Thiem – Long Thanh Airport railway line. The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee is proposing to add this project to the list of urban railway projects under Resolution No. 188/2025/QH15 so that it may benefit from the special mechanisms provided in the resolution.

Therefore, adding the project to extend the Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien metro line to the Provincial Administrative Center and Long Thanh Airport to the list of urban railway projects eligible for special mechanisms under Resolution No. 188/2025/QH15 will allow both projects to be implemented in a synchronized manner with consistent mechanisms and policies.

By Pham Tung – Translated by Quynh Nhu, Minho