Dong Nai aims to become a globally connected city

Half a century after national reunification, Dong Nai is entering an unprecedented period of opportunity. With strong attention from the Central government, the province is confidently transforming itself from an industrial hub into a globally connected city in the future.

The Long Thanh International Airport project is witnessing the accelerated construction of the parking garage block and connecting traffic to Terminal T1. Photo: Cong Nghia

Major infrastructure projects, including airports, seaports, expressways, ring roads, bridges connecting the Dong Nai River banks to Ho Chi Minh City, and state-of-the-art metro lines, are expected to turn this vision into reality, creating a civilized, modern and livable urban area.

Entering a new development phase

Over the past year, Dong Nai has made significant efforts under the guiding principle of “One mind top to bottom, smooth sailing across length and breadth” as directed by Party General Secretary To Lam. The Provincial Party Organization and government have placed unity at the core of their efforts to build an honest, transparent, and decisive administration. As a result, Dong Nai is confidently enter a new phase of development with expectations of breakthrough achievements.

Dong Nai especially looks forward to the policy of upgrading to a centrally-governed city along with specific mechanisms, creating momentum for the province to develop and contribute worthily to the national development vision until 2030 - the 100th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, and 2045 - the 100th founding anniversary of the nation.

Pham Manh Ha, a resident in Tran Bien ward, excitedly shared about the transformation of his homeland: As someone who participated in the fight to liberate the South, he has fully witnessed the change of this land for over half a century. Ha commented Dong Nai is a cradle of early industrial development and has always maintained an important position. However, over time, this process revealed many "bottlenecks" in traffic and urban infrastructure, which have now been overcome with new breakthroughs.

According to Politburo member and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man, after the merger, Dong Nai has become one of the leading localities in the country in terms of area, population, economic scale, and contribution to the state budget. The impressive growth figures in 2025 are proof of the province's determination and action-oriented commitment. This is also an important foundation for the province to continue to develop even more strongly, especially as the province increasingly plays a pivotal role in the national and regional development.

After 1975 and for many years thereafter, the North-South connection route passing through the province mainly depended on Dong Nai Bridge. It was not until 2015 that Long Thanh Bridge (located on the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay expressway) was put into operation to share the traffic pressure. In addition, many vital national highways such as National Highway 1, National Highway 51, or National Highway 20 gradually became too narrow compared to actual demand. This, in turn, created an obstacle, hindering the overall development speed of the province.

Nevertheless, people are placing their full trust in a “breath of fresh air” from super infrastructure projects. Typically, Long Thanh International Airport, Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway, Ho Chi Minh City’s Ring Road 3 are nearing completion, while Ring Road 4 is about to start construction. Sharing the excitement, Pham Thi Ngoc Ha, a resident in Dai Phuoc commune, said: The recent groundbreaking of the Cat Lai Bridge has opened up great opportunities, promising a more prosperous and modern life for local people.

Beyond Cat Lai Bridge, the province is determined to implement many more river-crossing projects connecting to Ho Chi Minh City. In this term, names such as Long Hung Bridge, Phu My 2 Bridge and Long Thanh 2 Bridge, Tan Hien Bridge are expected to help the economies of Dong Nai and Ho Chi Minh City become more connected for mutual support and development. This is a solid stepping stone for Dong Nai to "take off" in the new era.

Hoping for Dong Nai’s strong springboard

After many years of decelerated development, the 2025 results recorded a spectacular breakthrough for Dong Nai as its budget revenue exceeded 100 trillion VND. Especially, after the merger of Binh Phuoc province into Dong Nai, the locality made efforts to overcome many difficulties. Thanks to flexible management policies, the entire province still achieved a growth rate of 9.63%. This is an impressive figure and the highest in the past 10 years, showing that the province's development potential has been unleashed thanks to high political determination coupled with action.

In 2026, Dong Nai aims for a GRDP growth rate of 10%. The province is embracing the nation's development opportunities in line with the Central Government's directives. Beyond its projects of airport, seaport, expressway, Ring Road 3, and bridges connecting with Ho Chi Minh City, the province is striving to become the third locality nationwide to have a metro urban railway network. The province envisions that by 2030, the first metro line will be operational, shortening travel time from Dong Nai to Ho Chi Minh City.

During a recent working session with the National Assembly's National Defense and Security Committee, the Standing Committee of the Dong Nai Provincial Party Committee shared that at the First Congress of the Dong Nai Provincial Party Committee, for 2025-2030 term, the province set a roadmap to basically meet the criteria of a centrally-run city by 2030. However, after only 6 months of implementing the provincial merger and operating under the two-tier local government model, the new apparatus has proven its capacity and effectiveness. Therefore, the province believes it is fully capable of completing these criteria earlier than planned.

In recent times, Dong Nai has always received close attention from the Central Government, particularly the expectations of Party General Secretary To Lam. During the Party chief’s visit to the Long Thanh Airport Project, the General Secretary made strategic assessments, affirming that this is not merely an international airport but also a driving force, playing a core role in promoting the entire national economy, especially the Southern key economic region, including Dong Nai province.

In the coming years, Dong Nai will focus on developing the digital economy, green economy, circular economy, sharing economy... Its goal is to become a civilized, modern, globally connected city.

By Cong Nghia – Translated by Mai Nga, Thu Ha