Risk of waste because Long Thanh airport has to wait for… roads

The most important items in component 2 (works serving flight management) and component 3 (passenger terminal) projects are currently on schedule and ahead of schedule – Photo: A LOC

Vietnam Airports Corporation (ACV) has proposed that Ho Chi Minh City and relevant ministries direct the acceleration of the expansion of the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay Expressway. The aim is to ensure the success of the first phase of Long Thanh Airport, avoiding traffic congestion.

Day and night building the airport

According to the Ministry of Transport, the Long Thanh airport project phase 1 started construction in early 2021 and has now completed construction of 3/4 component projects, with only component project 4 being implemented behind schedule.

Component 1 project includes the headquarters of state management agencies, which are being built on schedule, including items such as airports, customs, immigration management and local police. However, the quarantine agency headquarters is still facing some problems that need to be resolved.

In the Component 2 project invested by Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation (VATM), the air traffic control tower is 2 months ahead of schedule. Currently, the air traffic tower has completed the rough construction and is in the finishing stage, including processing, painting the roof steel and installing the electromechanical system.

The ACV-invested Component 3 project has two important items: the passenger terminal and the runway, which are being constructed on schedule despite being considered the most complicated. ACV aims to complete and technically exploit the runway before April 30, 2025.

The progress of component project 4, which includes 17 ground service works, is slower. The Ministry of Transport has approved 8 priority works, of which the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam is conducting procedures to select investors for 7 works.

The prospect of "standing still" on the highway

In the context that the Ho Chi Minh City – Thu Thiem light rail line is still waiting for implementation, the expansion of the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay expressway is considered an important solution to meet traffic demand when Long Thanh airport comes into operation.

According to statistics, traffic volume on this highway increases by an average of 10.8% per year. In particular, the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh section is forecast to have a traffic volume exceeding 25% of the current capacity by 2025. In fact, although Long Thanh airport is not yet in operation, this route has often experienced congestion, especially during holidays.

The State Capital Management Committee at Enterprises assessed that the expansion of the expressway is an urgent task to meet the demand for transportation and socio-economic development, especially when Long Thanh airport is expected to be operational in 2026. The proposed plan is to expand the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh section (22km long) to 8 - 10 lanes with a total investment of about VND 14,955 billion.

Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC) was proposed as the project investor. In mid-2024, VEC signed a framework contract with Vietcombank to arrange credit for the project.

According to experts, the investment preparation and technical design time for an expressway usually takes about a year. If the procedures are shortened, the project could start in 2025 and be completed in 2 years. Although this progress is slower than the time of exploitation of Long Thanh airport, the project implementation still needs to be accelerated.

At the same time, the An Phu intersection at the starting point of the expressway is under construction and is expected to be completed by the end of 2025. The Ho Chi Minh City People's Council has also approved the policy of expanding the access road to the expressway from the An Phu intersection to Ring Road 2, increasing from 4 lanes to 8 lanes with a total investment of VND938.9 billion.

This project is expected to start construction in the third quarter of 2025 and be completed in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Bien Hoa – Vung Tau Expressway is broken.

Bien Hoa – Vung Tau Expressway, one of the important routes connecting the Southeast provinces with Long Thanh airport, is showing uneven construction progress. While some sections are on schedule, other sections are still facing many problems.

At the end of the route in Hoa Long commune, Ba Ria city (Ba Ria - Vung Tau province), contractors have begun the first kilometers of asphalt paving. This is component 3 of the project with a length of 19.5 km. As of November 15, more than one kilometer of asphalt paving has been completed.

The Cai Mep – Thi Vai Regional Transport Project Management Board said that it has cleared 100% of the land for component project 3. Regarding capital, the project was allocated nearly VND 1,190 billion from the central budget in 2024 and has disbursed VND 796 billion (reaching 67%).

Contractors are currently carrying out construction simultaneously with more than 15 construction teams, using more than 220 equipment and 415 personnel. The total work volume has been completed by about 50%. The units are committed to technical traffic opening before April 30, 2025.

However, in Dong Nai, the project is facing many difficulties. Project Management Board 85 said that in component project 1 (through Bien Hoa city and Long Thanh district), out of a total of 137 hectares that need to be cleared, only nearly 88 hectares have been handed over. As for component project 2 (through Long Thanh district), nearly 158 hectares have been handed over (87%), but the area that can be constructed is only over 104 hectares due to problems such as people not allowing construction or not moving technical infrastructure.

In addition to the issue of site clearance, the project is also seriously lacking in fill material, estimated at about 4 million ^m3 . Committee 85 has requested the Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee to allow exploitation of Phuoc Binh commune (Long Thanh district) and other land sources to ensure project progress.

At the same time, this committee also recommended that the province speed up site clearance and relocation of technical infrastructure works in November, especially prioritizing necessary locations so that contractors can carry out synchronous construction.

Slow road opening, airport has difficulty "taking off"

According to ACV, when the airport is operational, about 80% of international passenger traffic from Tan Son Nhat will be transferred to Long Thanh, with a designed capacity of 25 million passengers/year in phase 1. This will put great pressure on connecting routes, especially the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay expressway.

Meanwhile, the implementation of key transport projects connecting to the airport is currently quite slow, which may affect their synchronous completion when the airport comes into operation.

Waiting for more routes connecting to Long Thanh airport

The passenger terminal project – the heart of Long Thanh airport – is expected to be completed and put into operation by the end of 2026 – Photo: A LOC

Connection from the Western provinces to Long Thanh airport will be mainly carried out via Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway.

It is expected that some sections of this route will be put into operation by the end of 2024. When completed, this expressway will not only create a new direction to Long Thanh airport but also help reduce the load on the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay expressway, replacing the current route through Ho Chi Minh City's inner city.

Another important project is the Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 4 with a length of 207km, total investment capital of about 136,000 billion VND, which is being prepared by 5 localities including Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Dong Nai and Long An to submit to the National Assembly in early 2025. The section through Dong Nai alone is 45.54km long, with a total investment of about 24,000 billion VND, and will run parallel to National Highway 51 and Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway when passing through the airport.

Beltway 4 will create a new connection from Binh Duong to Long Thanh airport, in addition to beltway 3 of Ho Chi Minh City - Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh expressway and Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway.

This route will separate inter-regional traffic, creating favorable conditions for vehicles from the Central Highlands provinces to access the airport.

In Dong Nai, to avoid congestion in the area south of the airport, the province has proposed building DT 769E road connecting directly from the airport to the Phan Thiet - Dau Giay expressway, creating a new connecting route north of the airport.

Specifically, the Dong Nai Province Appraisal Council has just approved the investment policy for provincial road 769E phase 1 with a total capital of more than 1,400 billion VND. The project is 8km long, connecting Long Thanh airport to Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 4 and Phan Thiet - Dau Giay Expressway.

Along with routes T1 and T2, provincial road 769E will directly connect the area north of Long Thanh airport, helping to share traffic with the expressways Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay, Bien Hoa - Vung Tau and National Highway 51.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nguy-co-lang-phi-vi-san-bay-long-thanh-phai-cho-duong-20241123224501085.htm