Strategic “boost” from modern infrastructure development

As the global economy is undergoing a substantial shift toward the digital economy and the green economy, investment in developing a modern infrastructure system is not only an urgent requirement to sustain the pace of growth but also a solid foundation for future sustainable development.

Provincial leaders inspect site clearance work of the Gia Nghia - Chon Thanh Expressway Project.

Dong Nai, as the “gateway” to the Southern key economic region, is mobilizing all resources to accelerate key transport infrastructure projects. This feature is not only an answer to the regional connectivity challenge, but also a strategic “boost” that creates new room for the province to break through toward sustainable growth. New bridges and roads carry goods and aspirations for a prosperous, modern, and livable land.

Imprint from strategic transport works

The year 2025 can be affirmed as an essential milestone for Dong Nai province in implementing key projects, especially transport infrastructure projects. Many national and provincial key works and projects have been completed or reached decisive progress milestones.

Notable examples include the main components of Phase 1 of Long Thanh International Airport; the Ring Road 3 - Ho Chi Minh City section through Dong Nai, where the main route has been completed and opened for technical traffic; and the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway Project, which has recorded considerable results in site clearance and the relocation of technical infrastructure, creating conditions for the project to accelerate construction and strive for completion on schedule. Earlier, Dong Nai province broke ground on many essential transport projects with regional connectivity, such as expansions of the expressways: Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh, Dau Giay - Tan Phu, Gia Nghia - Chon Thanh, and Ho Chi Minh City - Thu Dau Mot - Chon Thanh.

Notably, Dong Nai has recently coordinated with Ho Chi Minh City to promote strategic connectivity projects such as Cat Lai Bridge, Long Hung Bridge, Phu My 2 Bridge crossing the Dong Nai River connecting the two localities, and especially the Project of extending the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien metro line to the provincial administrative center and Long Thanh Airport.

Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway - a national key project, is the infrastructure “backbone”, opening new development space for the whole region.

The increasingly complete transport infrastructure system is helping Dong Nai meet urgent transport needs and strengthen regional connectivity. More importantly, it provides a crucial foundation for socio-economic development, attracting investment, improving people’s quality of life, and reinforcing Dong Nai’s role and position in the Southern Key Economic Region.

Member of the Provincial Party Committee and Vice Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee Ho Van Ha said that, building on the results achieved, in 2026, transport infrastructure will continue to be one of the strategic breakthrough areas, with decisive significance for Dong Nai’s fast and sustainable development in the period ahead. The focus is to mobilize resources to speed up transport works that support regional connectivity, linking industrial parks, urban areas, seaports, and airports, with particular attention to routes connecting Long Thanh Airport, the expressway system, ring roads, and the province’s dynamic axes.

Ho Van Ha added, “In addition to focusing on accelerating progress of key transport projects, the province will continue to start projects of long-term strategic significance such as Ring Road 4 - Ho Chi Minh City; extending the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien metro line to the provincial administrative center and Long Thanh Airport; provincial roads 769, 770B, 773, 769E; Cat Lai Bridge, Long Hung Bridge, Phu My 2 Bridge, Hieu Liem 2 Bridge connecting with Ho Chi Minh City, thereby expanding development space and reducing traffic pressure for the central area”.

Three core pillars for breakthrough

Building on the results achieved, in 2026, Dong Nai will continue to strengthen and complete three core pillars as the foundation for breakthroughs and development. A key focus is integrated planning and development of synchronized infrastructure, with Long Thanh Airport as the strategic focal point.

Comrade Vo Tan Duc, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, said that Dong Nai is proposing and developing a chain of value-added services around the airport, including aviation logistics, distribution centers, free trade, financial and banking services, hotels, conferences, and smart urban areas.

“Long Thanh Airport Urban Area, with a scale of 43 thousand hectares associated with the Dong Nai River development corridor, will be an important growth pole in the south of the province. This area will include an aviation service center, logistics, international trade, finance, conferences, and modern urban areas, contributing to expanding the urban-industrial-service development space and closely linking with Ho Chi Minh City. Meanwhile, the free trade area, covering more than 7,000 hectares, will become an international logistics, distribution, and commercial-financial aviation service center. This feature is an important driving force promoting development of the high-tech industry, supporting industry, and strengthening Dong Nai’s role in the global supply chain,” Comrade Vo Tan Duc emphasized.

Alongside the development of synchronized, modern infrastructure, the province is also paying close attention to social security work, with social housing development as a central focus, closely tied to industrial and urban development, to ensure social security and stabilize the workforce for sustainable development.

Dong Nai is like a “giant construction site” with a series of key transport projects being accelerated. In the photo: Construction of the Ho Chi Minh City - Thu Dau Mot - Chon Thanh Expressway Project.

According to Vice Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee Ho Van Ha, in 2025 alone, the province completed more than 4.6 thousand social housing units, reaching 112% of the Prime Minister's assigned plan. This result helps the province gradually move closer to the 2030 target of completing 65 thousand social housing units, in line with the target set out in the Resolution of the First Provincial Party Congress for the term 2025-2030.

Regarding administrative procedures, Dong Nai is working to significantly improve the investment and business environment, with a determination to achieve double-digit growth. At the same time, it views this as an overarching foundation for the new development phase, to soon affirm Dong Nai as an essential growth pole of the region and the country.

“First of all, the province promotes improvement of the investment and business environment, encourages innovation, attracts all resources for development; focuses on reviewing and cutting administrative procedures, shifting from ‘pre-inspection’ to ‘post-inspection’, reducing compliance costs for people and enterprises; effectively implementing Resolution No. 66/NQ-CP dated March 26, 2025 of the Government on the Program of cutting and simplifying administrative procedures related to production and business activities in 2025 and 2026”, Comrade Truong Thi Huong Binh, Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Director of the Department of Finance said.

The above three core pillars will resonate, forming a foundation for Dong Nai to transform its growth model from a traditional industrial province into a high-tech industrial center, international logistics, free trade and aviation services, contributing to bringing the province’s socio-economic development fast, sustainable, achieving and exceeding targets set by the Resolution of the First Provincial Party Congress, term 2025-2030.

Dong Nai's transport infrastructure includes all five modes: road, railway, maritime, inland waterway, and aviation. Among them, Long Thanh Airport, with a capacity of 100 million passengers and 5 million tons of cargo per year, is one of the largest-scale projects in Southeast Asia. In addition, the province currently has 10 expressway routes that have been implemented, are being implemented, or are planned, helping Dong Nai become one of the national leaders in the number of expressway projects passing through the area (10/86 projects, accounting for 11.6%). The total length of expressways in the province is about 393.4 km, equivalent to 7.6% of the total length of the national expressway network (5,176 km), creating favorable conditions for the formation of industrial and urban growth poles linked to vital transport corridors.

By Xuan Tuc – Translated by Diec Quyen, Minho