“Super projects” pave the way for development

Dong Nai City is at a major turning point, poised to accelerate its development as a series of key transport infrastructure projects are nearing completion and preparing to be put into operation.

Ho Chi Minh City's Ring Road 3 section passing through Dong Nai City, is being accelerated for completion in October 2026.

Transport infrastructure, the “lifeblood” of development, is being unlocked, creating strong momentum for Dong Nai to tap into its development potential and available growth space.

“Development routes” near completion

In the final days of August 2026, hundreds of engineers and workers are racing against time at the Phuoc Khanh Bridge construction site, part of the Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway Project, urgently completing the project’s final items.

Phuoc Khanh Bridge is one of the most important components of the Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway Project. After years of delays, the bridge spanning the Long Tau River is gradually taking shape, establishing a direct link between Binh Khanh Commune in Ho Chi Minh City and Dai Phuoc Commune in Dong Nai City. Once the bridge is completed, the entire Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway is expected to be completed and opened to traffic as a whole.

Pham Thanh Hai, Director of the Southern Expressway Project Management Board under Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC), said the unit is coordinating with contractors to accelerate the completion of the final items of the Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway. Phuoc Khanh Bridge is a particularly important component in ensuring the target of opening the entire expressway to traffic in September 2026.

Hoang Dang Hau, Deputy Site Commander for the Phuoc Khanh Bridge construction project, said the contractor is mobilizing about 200 workers and technical staff, deploying multiple construction teams to complete the remaining work and strive to meet the September 2026 opening schedule.

Dong Nai City's infrastructure development today should be viewed not merely as a collection of separate transport projects, but as a process of restructuring the city's development space. Previously, Dong Nai's growth was largely based on industrial parks, national highways, connections with Ho Chi Minh City and traditional production corridors. Today, with Long Thanh International Airport, the expressway and ring-road network, Phuoc An Port, connections to the Cai Mep - Thi Vai deep-water port complex, as well as plans for railways and metro lines, Dong Nai has the conditions to shift toward a development model based on a strategic infrastructure network.

Huynh Ho Dai Nghia, public policy expert, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City

Once completed and fully opened to traffic, the Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway will help shorten travel times and enhance connectivity among major economic centers, urban areas and transport hubs. It will also expand traffic flows from the Mekong Delta and Ho Chi Minh City to Dong Nai and Long Thanh International Airport, creating new momentum for regional connectivity and more effective use of the southern infrastructure network in general and Dong Nai City in particular.

Also scheduled for completion and full operation in September 2026, the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway Project has entered the final stage of construction. Although the main section has only been open to traffic for more than three months, the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway has already demonstrated its effectiveness in facilitating travel between Dong Nai City and Ho Chi Minh City. Once fully completed and operational, its role in connecting the two major urban centers of the southeastern region, as well as Long Thanh International Airport with the Cai Mep - Thi Vai port complex, will become even more evident.

Alongside the Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway, Dong Nai is also accelerating construction of Component Project 3 of Ho Chi Minh City’s Ring Road 3.

Nguyen Linh, Deputy Director of the city's Traffic Construction Investment Project Management Board, said work under the project's construction packages had reached approximately 80% of the value of the signed contracts.

Under the plan, Dong Nai aims to complete and fully open Component Project 3 of Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3 to traffic in October 2026.

Once operational, Ho Chi Minh City Ring’s Road 3 will provide an additional transport corridor linking Nhon Trach area with the expressway network and major arterial roads, shortening travel times and improving connectivity between Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai City and the Mekong Delta provinces. Beyond enhancing transport connectivity, the route is expected to expand the development space for urban areas, industry and services in eastern Ho Chi Minh City, while creating greater room for efficient use of the interregional transport network and facilitating access to Long Thanh International Airport.

Countdown to completion of “mega” airport

Among the transport infrastructure projects under construction in Dong Nai City, Long Thanh International Airport is the largest in terms of investment scale and plays the most important role in driving development. Under the Government's requirements, Phase 1 of the project is scheduled to commence commercial operations by the end of 2026.

Phuoc Khanh Bridge, a key component of the Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway Project, is entering the final stage of construction.

In early June 2026, Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) launched the “180-day-and-night acceleration campaign to complete the project and put Long Thanh International Airport into operation.”

According to Nguyen Duc Hung, Acting General Director of ACV, completing and putting Long Thanh International Airport into operation in 2026 is of particular importance to the development of the aviation sector and the national economy. The project has completed many key components and entered its final sprint. This is the most challenging stage, requiring a very high degree of precision, synchronization, responsibility and determination. ACV aims to conduct trial operations in three phases: the first in September 2026, the second in October 2026 and the third in November 2026, before officially putting Long Thanh International Airport into operation in December 2026.

Professor John D. Kasarda of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, President of the Aerotropolis Institute China, said Long Thanh International Airport would serve as a “driving force and nucleus” for Dong Nai City's development, helping it emerge as a new growth pole for Vietnam.

By Pham Tung - Translated by Mai Nga, Thu Ha