Hundreds of trillions of VND needed for infrastructure development

To meet the goal of becoming a national growth pole as well as development demands, during the five-year period (2026-2030), Dong Nai City is expected to require hundreds of trillions of VND in investment capital for infrastructure development, particularly transport infrastructure.

Ground is broken for the Cat Lai Bridge project, connecting Dong Nai City with Ho Chi Minh City, at the beginning of 2026. Photo: Perspective of Cat Lai Bridge

Dong Nai City is located at the center of the Southeast Region, sharing a border with Cambodia and possessing multiple border gates. At the same time, with Long Thanh International Airport being constructed within its territory, the locality is also responsible for managing this area. Therefore, demand for investment in infrastructure development, ensuring security, public order and social welfare is enormous, particularly transport infrastructure.

Focusing on infrastructure investment

According to the Government's requirements, Phase 1 of Long Thanh International Airport must be put into commercial operation by the end of 2026. Therefore, one of the most urgent requirements for Dong Nai City at present is to quickly complete the transport infrastructure system connecting to the airport in order to spread development momentum.

Member of the City Party Committee and Vice Chairman of the Dong Nai City People's Committee Ho Van Ha said that, to ensure transport connectivity for Long Thanh Airport, Dong Nai has coordinated with central agencies and localities to invest in the construction of the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway, Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway, and the expansion of the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh section on the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway. At the same time, the city has also implemented projects to build, upgrade and expand Provincial Roads DT.25B and DT.25C.

According to the plan, in June 2026, Dong Nai City will commence construction on three additional transport infrastructure projects serving connectivity to Long Thanh Airport, including Ho Chi Minh City’s Ring Road 4; the upgrading and expansion of Provincial Roads DT.769 and DT.773; and the construction of Provincial Road DT.770B. In addition, the city also aims to start construction on the project extending the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien Metro Line to the city administrative center and Long Thanh Airport in 2026. With a series of projects to be implemented in the coming period, Dong Nai City's demand for infrastructure investment capital is extremely large.

According to Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee and Chairman of the City People's Committee Nguyen Van Ut, the city estimates investment demand for infrastructure development during the 2026-2030 period at approximately VND300 trillion.

According to Notice No. 69 on the conclusions of Party General Secretary and State President To Lam at the working session with the Standing Board of the Dong Nai City Party Committee on May 18, the top leader assigned relevant ministries and sectors to consider and resolve Dong Nai City's proposals within their authority. These include allocating resources to implement national key projects, especially Phase 2 of Long Thanh Airport, the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Railway, urban railway lines, transport infrastructure connecting Long Thanh Airport, regional connectivity projects and Dong Nai's key projects.

Diversifying investment capital sources

At the beginning of 2026, Dong Nai officially broke ground on the Cat Lai Bridge and Long Hung Bridge projects connecting with Ho Chi Minh City. These are transport infrastructure projects implemented under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.

Previously, investment capital for transport infrastructure projects depended almost entirely on public investment. However, as public investment resources remain limited while many projects in other sectors also require funding, relying solely on public investment to develop infrastructure projects is extremely difficult.

With infrastructure investment demand reaching VND300 trillion over the five-year period from 2026 to 2030, Dong Nai City requires approximately VND60 trillion in investment capital each year. Meanwhile, the city's current financial capacity is only about VND30 trillion annually. Therefore, diversifying infrastructure investment capital sources is an inevitable requirement.

Groundbreaking is held in early 2026 for the Long Hung Bridge project connecting Dong Nai City with Ho Chi Minh City, which is implemented under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. Photo: Perspective of Long Hung Bridge

Following the Cat Lai Bridge and Long Hung Bridge projects, a series of other projects, including Ho Chi Minh City’s Ring Road 4, Nguyen Huu Canh Road, the elevated road along National Highway 51, the road connecting Ma Da Bridge with Ho Chi Minh City’s Ring Road 4, and the extension of the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien Metro Line to the city administrative center and Long Thanh Airport, will also be invested in by Dong Nai City under the PPP model.

At the working session with the Central Government delegation on May 18, Dong Nai City proposed that the Central Government consider supporting resources for synchronized investment in regional transport infrastructure projects, projects connecting Long Thanh Airport and the city's key projects. In addition, to create initial resources, Dong Nai also proposed that the Central Government establish special mechanisms to generate resources for the city to implement key infrastructure projects, PPP projects and urban development under the TOD (Transit-Oriented Development) model.

By: Pham Tung - Translated by Diec Quyen, Thu Ha