Roads to Long Thanh airport under consideration

Hanoi (VNA) – Roads leading to the would-be Long Thanh International Airport in the southern province of Dong Nai have been proposed with a view to ensuring the airport’s sustainable and long-term connectivity.

After the approval of the Long Thanh International Airport investment project, State agencies have weighed the transport system to the airport.

Different routes to Long Thanh International Airport 

The Ministry of Transport has proposed assigning the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) as the investor and manager of Long Thanh International Airport’s first phase.

The ACV’s investment and exploitation of the airport will help curb public debts as no official development assistance (ODA) capital is used during the construction, according to the ministry.

As the investor and manager of the airport, the corporation will contribute an additional 2.39-4.78 trillion VND (roughly 100-200 million USD) to the State budget or collect capital in service of the development of other airports such as Rach Gia, Ca Mau, Con Dao, Dien Bien, Na San and Lai Chau.

The consultation group has proposed three routes to the airport, including one spanning 3.8km from the western part of the airport to National Highway 51.

With four lanes, the second links the first with Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Day Giay Expressway and runs parallel to the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway.

Meanwhile, the third, measuring 8.5km in length, begins from the eastern part of the airport and ends at the Dau Giay-Phan Thiet Expressway.

The agencies have also worked on railways to Long Thanh International Airport, comprising the North-South High-Speed Railway and a light rail between the Thu Thiem new urban area and the airport, along with one high-speed railway stop and two light railway stops that will be connected to the airport’s terminals.

Building routes during each phase of project

Besides, in order to ensure the airport’s sustainable and long-term connectivity, the Ministry of Transport has instructed the Transport Development and Strategy Institute and consultation agencies at home to study the demand for travelling from the Southern Key Economic Region to Long Thanh International Airport and from Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City to Long Thanh airport so as to adjusts the planning scheme as well as investment in the road and railway systems, serving the development of Long Thanh International Airport through each period.

Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway’s Belt Road II leading to National Highway 51. (Photo: VNA)

The Ministry of Transport proposed the Prime Minister and localities mobilise resources for the construction of routes between Long Thanh International Airport and the Southern Key Economic Region, making it harmonious with each phase of the airport project.

Accordingly, by 2025 that marks the project’s first phase with an annual capacity of serving 25 million passengers, the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh Expressway will be expanded from four into eight lanes, and Provincial Road 25C from National Highway 51 to the Ben Luc-Long Thanh Expressway will be completed.  

During the project’s second phase that is scheduled to last till 2030 with annual capacity of 50 million passengers, the construction will focus on the four-lane Tan Van-Nhon Trach section of Belt Road 3, the four-lane Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway, the Cat Lai Bridge and an eight-lane road from the bridge to Provincial Road 25C. 

By 2040 when the airport’s capacity reaches 75 million passengers per year, the construction will target the high-speed railway from Ho Chi Minh City to the central coastal city of Nha Trang, the Thu Thiem-Long Thanh light railway, Belt Road IV and the fourth regional route.

By 2050 when the airport’s annual capacity amounts to 100 million passengers, the State agencies will have a four-lane road built from the airport to the centre of Ho Chi Minh City and Tan Son Nhat International Airport, and the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway expanded into 10-12 lanes, the Ben Luc-Long Thanh Expressway into six lanes, and the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau into six-eight lanes.

The construction of Long Thanh International Airport is projected to cost more than 336.6 trillion VND (16 billion USD), with over 114.400 trillion VND (5.45 billion USD) for the first phase. It covers a total area of more than 5,000ha in Long Thanh district, Dong Nai province.

The airport is expected to ease the overload at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, the country’s largest airport.

Vietnamese airports served 103.5 million passengers last year, up 11 per cent from 2017, according to ACV./.