Long Thanh Airport vicinity – Dong Nai’s new growth pole

In Dong Nai’s new development map, Long Thanh International Airport is not only a national-scale infrastructure project but also a strategic anchor for expanding development space, restructuring the growth model, and elevating the province’s position.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (front row, second from right) visits the Nhon Trach 3 and 4 Thermal Power Plant projects on the occasion of their inauguration on December 14, 2025. The projects are located in the vicinity of Long Thanh International Airport. Photo: Cong Nghia

From this airport core area, a new economic belt is taking shape and spreading into industrial, logistics, international trade, and urban sectors. This area serves as a strategic growth pole, leading a new development space for the province in the period ahead.

Growth pole No. 1 of the province

If Long Thanh Airport is likened to a “gateway to the sky,” opening new connectivity and development opportunities, the surrounding area represents an emerging economic network. With outstanding advantages in geographical location, inter-regional transport infrastructure, and ongoing and upcoming projects, the area is becoming a focal point for strategic investment flows, particularly in high-tech industries, logistics, and global supply-chain-related services.

A representative of KN Holdings Group, speaking at the launch ceremony of two industrial park infrastructure projects near Long Thanh Airport in late December 2025, highlighted the region’s competitive advantages and development vision. These factors underpin the investor’s decision to pursue large-scale, long-term projects in the area. Accordingly, the Bau Can – Tan Hiep Industrial Park Project (phase 1), located at the southern gateway of the airport, offers strong connectivity to the Southeast region’s strategic transport network. From here, goods can quickly access the Bien Hoa – Vung Tau Expressway, National Highway 51, and Ring Road 4 of Ho Chi Minh City to reach the Cai Mep – Thi Vai port cluster, currently Vietnam’s largest and most modern deep-water seaport system.

Nhon Trach 3 and 4 Thermal Power Plants, Vietnam’s first liquefied natural gas power projects in Dong Nai, were completed at the end of 2025. Photo: Hoang Loc

In addition to infrastructure advantages, Bau Can – Tan Hiep Industrial Park is oriented toward attracting high-value-added industries capable of deeply integrating into global supply chains. Priority sectors include high-tech industries that use clean energy and have strong spillover potential, such as semiconductor and chip manufacturing, electronic components, aviation-supporting industries, precision engineering, data centers, and smart logistics, in line with the province’s sustainable development orientation.

Meanwhile, Xuan Que – Song Nhan Industrial Park (phase 1) focuses on developing the economic corridor northeast of Long Thanh Airport. Located at the intersection of the Dau Giay – Phan Thiet Expressway and Provincial Road 770B, the park connects directly to the airport via Provincial Road 769E and Ring Road 4 of Ho Chi Minh City. This synchronized transport network is expected to shorten cargo transport times and create effective linkages between industrial parks, urban areas, and production zones.

According to the orientation, the Xuan Que - Song Nhan Industrial Park will focus on manufacturing and next-generation materials, prioritizing in-depth development and the application of advanced, environmentally friendly technologies. Sectors encouraged for investment include next-generation supporting industries, precision manufacturing and electronics, electric vehicle and battery production, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, logistics, and industries linked to digital transformation. These are high-value-added sectors, in line with the global shift in supply chains and Dong Nai's goal of elevating its industrial sector.

The development space around Long Thanh Airport is also strongly reinforced by an increasingly complete inter-regional transport system.

Nguyen Thu Thuy, General Director of Long Thanh Riverside Joint Stock Company, noted that the Long Thanh area is becoming a strategic transport connectivity hub in the southern part of the province, as it brings together a series of major infrastructure projects. These include the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway nearing completion, the expansion of the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway, Ring Road 3 of Ho Chi Minh City largely completed, and Ring Road 4 of Ho Chi Minh City set to break ground soon. Most notably, once in operation, Long Thanh Airport, the largest airport in Vietnam, will create an unprecedented “impetus” for the socio-economic development of the region and the province.

Long Duc Industrial Park is in the vicinity of Long Thanh Airport. Photo: Hoang Loc

The area also benefits from convenient connectivity to numerous large industrial parks in Dong Nai and Ho Chi Minh City, as well as major seaport systems such as Cai Mep – Thi Vai, Phuoc An, Dong Nai, and Phu My. This “golden triangle” of airport – seaport – industrial park advantages provides a strong foundation for trade and logistics development.

The strong growth of industry, trade, and services is driving demand for housing and modern urban areas. Anticipating this trend, many enterprises have invested in large-scale urban projects in Long Thanh. One example is a high-end residential project developed by Long Thanh Riverside Joint Stock Company, covering 41 hectares and planned as a nature-oriented resort-style urban area. Several components have already been completed, gradually forming high-quality living spaces for residents, experts, and workers in the airport vicinity.

Another critical piece in the development picture of the area surrounding Long Thanh Airport is Phuoc An Port, a project expected to become a major driver for the province’s trade, services, and logistics. Spanning more than 164 hectares and totaling over VND 11 trillion in investment, the seaport can receive vessels of up to 60,000 tons. Phase 1 has been completed and put into operation since late 2024, and it is currently handling international vessels from major shipping lines, including MSC, WANHAI, SITC, and ZIM. Phases 2 and 3 are underinvested and being implemented in line with the plan.

Truong Hoang Hai, General Director of Phuoc An Port Investment and Exploitation Joint Stock Company, said at a supervision session of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation in July 2025 that this is the largest seaport in Dong Nai, serving as a strategic link in the province's and the Southeast region's logistics chain. The port’s most significant advantage is its deep inland location, adjacent to the Thi Vai River, a key shipping route to the East Sea, close to major industrial parks in Dong Nai and Ho Chi Minh City, and less than 30 km from Long Thanh Airport. These are ideal conditions for building a multimodal logistics chain that connects road, sea, and air transport, strengthening the competitiveness of the entire region.

Unlocking advantages for breakthrough development

Recognizing the special role of the area surrounding Long Thanh Airport in the province’s future development, Dong Nai is intensifying efforts to strengthen institutions, planning, and infrastructure to effectively tap into this new growth pole.

Nguyen Kim Long, Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee and Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee, said that adjusting the Provincial Planning for the 2021–2030 period with a vision to 2050 is one of the key strategic tasks. The province aims to restructure development space to maximize regional advantages while ensuring balanced growth, environmental protection, and national defense.

The revised planning identifies four new key economic regions. Among them, the southern urban-industrial zone associated with Long Thanh Airport, Phuoc An Port, and the urban areas of Tran Bien, Long Thanh, and Nhon Trach is identified as Region No. 1, of special importance. At the 2026 Socio-economic Target Assignment Conference, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Van Ut said that after administrative unit restructuring and organizational consolidation, Dong Nai has entered a new development phase with a more expanded socio-economic space, a larger population scale, and a bigger economy. This occasion both opens up opportunities to restructure and elevate development and places higher demands on management and administration. In that context, strategic infrastructure works, especially Long Thanh Airport together with the expressway system, ring roads, and inter-regional connecting corridors, will serve as a key driving force, promoting the formation of new economic spaces for industry, logistics, services, and modern urban development.

Phuoc An Port, the largest seaport in Dong Nai, is located in the vicinity of Long Thanh International Airport. Photo: Hoang Loc

Regarding Long Thanh Airport and the surrounding area, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee said the province will seriously, promptly, and effectively implement the conclusions of General Secretary To Lam from his working session on the project in the province in November 2025. Key tasks include urgently developing specific mechanisms and special policies for Dong Nai's development; finalizing the Free Trade Zone Project; developing integrated planning for transport routes connecting the airport with localities in the Southeast region; and forming new urban centers under the Airport City model. At the same time, the province will speed up major transport projects such as the expansion of the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway, the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway, the Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway, Ho Chi Minh City's Ring Road No. 3 and Ring Road No. 4, along with connecting bridges and rail and metro lines.

It can be affirmed that the area surrounding Long Thanh Airport possesses advantages that few other localities can match. These include a convergence of strategic location, integrated infrastructure, multimodal connectivity, and a long-term development vision, as it is identified as one of the province's four new growth-driving regions. Leveraging the airport, sectors such as trade, logistics, and services are expanding in a coordinated manner, attracting large-scale investment and supporting deeper integration into global production and supply chains. This development is expected to generate employment opportunities, raise income levels, enhance social infrastructure, and gradually shape a modern, sustainable living environment.

The Resolution of the 1st Dong Nai Provincial Party Congress (2025–2030 term) identifies four new key development regions: the southern urban-industrial region associated with Long Thanh Airport and Phuoc An Port; the northern industrial-urban region linked to Hoa Lu Border Gate Economic Zone and Hoang Dieu Border Gate; the western lakeside and riverside urban-ecological economic region; and the northeastern high-tech agriculture, large-scale livestock, and green eco-tourism region.

By Hoang Loc – Translated by Minh Hong, Minho