$251mn needed for Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay expressway expansion

Since its inauguration in 2014, the 55-kilometer expressway – connecting Ho Chi Minh City with neighboring Dong Nai Province – has experienced a significant surge in traffic volume.

This increase has exceeded the design capacity of the four-lane Ho Chi Minh City–Long Thanh section, leading to frequent congestion, according to the ministry.

To address this issue, the ministry has proposed an expansion project estimated to cost approximately VND16.3 trillion ($630.3 million).

Of the total investment, VND6.5 trillion (over $251 million) is expected to be sourced from the state budget, while the remaining VND9.8 trillion (approximately $379.2 million) will be provided by the Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC).

The ministry has recommended that the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha assign VEC, which is the expressway’s investor, as the implementing agency for the expansion project.

It also proposes that government leaders instruct VEC to develop a specific plan to commence construction within this year and permit VEC to apply special contractor selection methods, as proposed by the company, to implement the project.

After 11 years of operation, the four-lane Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh section is no longer capable of accommodating the increasing traffic load, the ministry said.

Specifically, the transport demand on the section from An Phu intersection to the Bien Hoa–Vung Tau Expressway has exceeded the current capacity by 25 percent.

Similarly, the vehicle volume on the Ho Chi Minh City–Long Thanh section has rapidly increased, with an average annual growth rate of 10.82 percent, surpassing the design capacity of the section.

Even when the entire Ben Luc–Long Thanh Expressway, which links Dong Nai with Long An Province, is put into operation in 2026 to ease traffic pressure on the Ho Chi Minh City–Long Thanh section, the transport demand on this section will still exceed its design capacity by 25 percent.

With its current four-lane configuration, the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh Expressway section fails to meet the rising transport demand, especially when the first phase of Long Thanh Airport in Dong Nai is completed and put into operation in the coming time.