Extension of metro line linking two airports under emergency conditions

The Prime Minister has agreed in principle to the implementation of the project to extend the Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien urban railway (metro) line to Dong Nai Province’s Administrative Center and Long Thanh International Airport under emergency conditions as proposed by the Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee.

The project to extend the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien metro line to Dong Nai Provincial Administrative Center, Long Thanh Airport has been agreed in principle to be implemented under emergency conditions. Photo: Collaborator

This is one of the contents in the Notice on the conclusion of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Head of the Steering Committee, at the 7th meeting of the Steering Committee for key national railway projects.

Shortening travel time between two airports

According to the set goal, phase 1 of Long Thanh Airport will be completed and put into commercial operation in the first half of 2026. One of the urgent requirements to maximize the project's effectiveness is to connect transportation, shortening travel time between Long Thanh Airport and Tan Son Nhat Airport.

Currently, with projects that have been completed and those currently under implementation, the connection between Ho Chi Minh City, Tan Son Nhat Airport, and Long Thanh Airport relies primarily on road networks, including the main axis as Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway. Along with that, there are projects under investment such as Ho Chi Minh City’s Ring Road 3, and provincial routes such as 25B, 25C.

The distance from the center of Ho Chi Minh City to Long Thanh Airport is about 40km. At a working session with Ho Chi Minh City in early February 2026, Party General Secretary To Lam emphasized: The travel time from Ho Chi Minh City to Long should not take up to two hours as it is currently, but should be reduced to about 30 minutes.

In that context, in addition to the road projects currently under construction, to realize the goal of shortening travel time between Ho Chi Minh City, Tan Son Nhat Airport to Long Thanh Airport, metro projects, including the Project to extend the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien metro line to Dong Nai Provincial Administrative Center, Long Thanh Airport, are considered a "solution" to the challenge of improving transportation connection between these two airports.

According to Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Van Ut, with the scale of Long Thanh Airport, connecting transportation with Ho Chi Minh City, Tan Son Nhat Airport cannot be done only by road. "Therefore, it must be determined that accelerating the progress of investing in the Project to extend the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien metro line to Dong Nai Provincial Administrative Center and Long Thanh Airport is one of the tasks that need to be done immediately," said Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Van Ut.

Urgent implementation

In the Notice of the Government Office on the conclusion of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Head of the Steering Committee at the 7th meeting of the Steering Committee for key national railway projects, along with agreeing in principle to implement the Project to extend the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien metro line to Dong Nai Provincial Administrative Center and Long Thanh Airport under emergency conditions, the Prime Minister also assigned the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Finance, the Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee, and the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to implement the project according to legal procedures and regulations. The Prime Minister noted that the implementation process must not result in negativity, corruption, waste, or inefficiency...

At the end of January 2026, the Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee established a Working Group responsible for the Project to extend the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien metro line to the Provincial Administrative Center and Long Thanh Airport to implement the project in accordance with legal regulations. The Working Group is also in charge of researching and drafting specific and special mechanisms and policies, especially to develop the urban railway network system in Dong Nai province.

Previously, at the end of 2025, at the 8th working session, the 10th Dong Nai Provincial People's Council approved a resolution assigning the Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee as the competent authority to implement the Project to extend the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien metro line to the Dong Nai Provincial Administrative Center and Long Thanh Airport. The project will be implemented under the public-private partnership (PPP) method, passing through two provincial-level administrative units, including Dong Nai and Ho Chi Minh City. The total length of the metro line within Dong Nai is 41.4km.

On December 11, 2025, at its 10th session, the 15th National Assembly also passed Resolution No. 260/2025/QH15, amending and supplementing a number of articles of Resolution No. 98/2023/QH15. In particular, the National Assembly agreed that the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee would continue to apply specific and special policies stipulated in Resolution No. 188/2025/QH15 of the National Assembly to develop the urban railway network system in Ho Chi Minh City. The City People's Council is assigned to decide on the adjustment and supplementation of new railway projects located within the city's territory into the appendix attached to Resolution No. 188/2025/QH15 according to the city's development needs and report the implementation results to the Government.

On December 26, 2025, at its 7th session, the 10th Ho Chi Minh City People's Council approved Resolution No. 510/NQ-HĐND on the list of additional railway projects to be included in the appendix attached to Resolution No. 188/2025/QH15 of the National Assembly, which includes the Project to extend the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien Metro Line to the Dong Nai Provincial Administrative Center and Long Thanh Airport.

It can be said that currently, the Project to extend the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien metro line to the Dong Nai Provincial Administrative Center and Long Thanh Airport has all the mechanisms and policies in place to be implemented with the goal of completing the project as soon as possible. In particular, the addition of this project to the list of projects applying specific and special policies stipulated in Resolution No. 188/2025/QH15 of the National Assembly, as proposed by Dong Nai province, is of utmost importance. It is because Dong Nai will be able to fully apply the special mechanisms of the resolution. This will help effectively mobilize social resources and revenue from land fund development according to the Transit Oriented Development (TOD)  model; maximize the value of land funds and urban space along the metro line; and shorten investment preparation time through a special procedural mechanism.

By Pham Tung – Translated by Mai Nga, Thu Ha