Traffic connections for Long Thanh Airport to be synchronized

According to the plan, Long Thanh International Airport (Phase 1) is expected to begin commercial operations in the first half of 2026. With a designed capacity of 25 million passengers per year, the airport will handle tens of thousands of passengers each day. As such, traffic connectivity is considered the most critical factor for ensuring the airport’s efficient operation.

Ring Road 3 –  Ho Chi Minh City serving Long Thanh Airport connection will be technically opened to traffic for the entire section through the province by the end of 2025. Photo: Pham Tung

Accelerating construction of the "backbone" connection axis

According to the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), once operational, most passengers will need to travel between Long Thanh Airport and Ho Chi Minh City. In this context, the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay Expressway is considered the "backbone" traffic route connecting Long Thanh Airport to Ho Chi Minh City during the airport’s initial phase of operation.

Given its importance, ACV and Dong Nai province have repeatedly proposed that the central government accelerate investment in expanding the section of the expressway from Long Thanh to Ho Chi Minh City.

On August 19, 2025, the Project to Expand the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh expressway section of the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay expressway officially commenced construction.

According to Dang Hoai Nam, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam Expressway Development Investment Corporation (VEC), the project to expand the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh expressway is a key transport infrastructure project that will connect directly to Long Thanh Airport. The Prime Minister has assigned VEC as the project owner, with the investment being carried out as an emergency construction project. Immediately after the groundbreaking, contractors began work with the goal of fundamentally completing the project by 2026, as directed by the Prime Minister.

Due to the project’s special nature, being designed and constructed simultaneously, VEC is currently mobilizing all available resources, including funding and human resources, and coordinating closely with relevant agencies to complete the construction design documents following the basic design stage, in order to meet the contractors’ on-site construction timeline.

A series of projects racing to meet deadlines

In addition to the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay Expressway, a series of expressways, ring roads, and provincial roads have also been developed in recent years to support traffic connectivity to Long Thanh Airport. A common feature of these projects is that all are required to be basically completed by the end of 2025 and put into operation in 2026, in sync with the planned start of commercial operations at Long Thanh Airport.

The Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay expressway section through Long Thanh commune will be invested in expansion to meet operational needs when Long Thanh Airport comes into operation. Photo: Pham Tung

According to Vice Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Vo Tan Duc: For the component projects of the Bien Hoa – Vung Tau expressway projects, Ring Road 3 – Ho Chi Minh City assigned to the province for investment and construction, the Provincial People's Committee has requested investors to implement solutions to accelerate progress to technically open to traffic before December 19, 2025.

Meanwhile, for the Ben Luc – Long Thanh Expressway Project, VEC is currently directing contractors to accelerate construction progress to complete construction and put the entire project into operation in 2026.

As for Dong Nai province, in addition to projects implemented by the Central Government, the locality is also urgently promoting the progress of provincial road projects serving traffic connections for Long Thanh Airport.

The Provincial People's Committee has directed relevant localities to accelerate site clearance for the upgrade and expansion projects of Provincial Roads 25B and 25C. At the same time, the project investor has been instructed to direct contractors to speed up construction progress. Dong Nai Province aims to have both projects basically completed by the end of 2025.

According to the planning, these two provincial roads are intended to serve as key connectors from Long Thanh Airport, passing through National Highway 51 to link with the Ben Luc – Long Thanh Expressway and Ring Road 3 – Ho Chi Minh City. These routes will create additional transport corridors between Long Thanh Airport and Ho Chi Minh City, helping to ease congestion on the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay Expressway.

The project to expand the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh expressway section, with a length of approximately 22km, is being implemented in Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai province. The project has a total investment of nearly 15 trillion VND.

In early September 2025, during an on-site inspection of Phase 1 of the Long Thanh Airport Project, Party Central Committee Member and Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha emphasized that the progress of Long Thanh Airport depends not only on internal construction components but is also closely tied to the surrounding transport infrastructure.

Therefore, the Ministry of Construction, Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai Province, and relevant agencies must accelerate the implementation of key infrastructure projects, including Ring Road 3 – Ho Chi Minh City, the expansion of the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh expressway section, and connecting routes undertaken by VEC and the Ministry of Construction. All of these projects have been committed by localities and implementing units to be completed before the airport enters commercial operation.

By Pham Tung – Translated by Mai Nga, Minho