Eight years ago, the 55km Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway was put into operation with a scale of 4 lanes. The route helps connect traffic and economy between Ho Chi Minh City with the Southeast and Central Highlands regions.
Traffic volume has been increasing steadily, averaging nearly 12% per year. Currently, the 4-lane expressway is overloaded, with the section from An Phu intersection (HCMC) to Bien Hoa - Vung Tau expressway intersection (Dong Nai) having a traffic volume exceeding its capacity by 25%. In particular, by 2026, when Long Thanh airport is put into operation, the expressway will not be able to meet traffic capacity.
During the September 2nd holiday this year, the number of vehicles on the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway was very large, causing prolonged congestion. The authorities continuously closed and opened the expressway to regulate traffic, forcing vehicles to turn back to the An Phu intersection (Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City), causing prolonged congestion at this intersection.
After many consultations, the State Capital Management Committee at Enterprises recently reported to the Government leaders on the investment plan to expand the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay expressway .
According to the proposed plan, the project scope will expand the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh section over a total length of nearly 22km. The starting point is at the Ring Road 2 intersection (Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City) and the ending point is at the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway intersection (Long Thanh District, Dong Nai Province).
In terms of scale, the section from the Ring Road 2 intersection to the Ring Road 3 intersection is invested with 8 lanes according to the plan. The section from the Ring Road 3 intersection to the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau expressway intersection is invested with 10 lanes according to the plan.
Long Thanh Bridge will be invested in building a new bridge unit, with a scale similar to the current bridge, organizing traffic exploitation with a scale of 10 lanes (no emergency lanes will be arranged in advance, combined with traffic organization with 5 lanes on each side, 35m wide).
With the above plan, the total investment of the project is about more than 14,955 billion VND (including interest during construction). Of which, equity is more than 5,555 billion VND (37%), commercial loan is 9,400 billion VND (63%).
The project is invested by Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC) and is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.
To synchronize with the expressway, Ho Chi Minh City also plans to expand the road section from An Phu intersection to Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 2 (nearly 4km long) from 4 lanes to 8 lanes. The project has a total investment of nearly 1,000 billion VND from the Ho Chi Minh City budget.
According to the plan, investment preparation work will be carried out from 2024 to the second quarter of 2025. The project will start construction from the third quarter of 2025 to the fourth quarter of 2026 and put into operation.
At the same time, the 3-storey An Phu intersection project (Thu Duc City) was started by Ho Chi Minh City at the end of 2022 with a total capital of nearly 3,400 billion VND.
Ho Chi Minh City aims to complete the project by 2025. This year, some items such as Ba Dat bridge, Giong Ong To bridge, and the underpass section at the Mai Chi Tho - Dong Van Cong intersection will be completed.
