Expanding the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh expressway
The Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay expressway expansion project (section from Ring Road 2 to Bien Hoa - Vung Tau expressway intersection) is 22 km long, started in August 2025, with a total investment of more than 16,300 billion VND.
The section from Ring Road 2 to Ring Road 3 is expanded from 4 to 8 lanes; the section from Ring Road 3 to Bien Hoa - Vung Tau expressway is upgraded to 10 lanes. The project also builds a new 5-lane Long Thanh bridge in the direction from Ho Chi Minh City to Dong Nai.
The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2026. Long Thanh bridge is expected to close the main bridge in December 2026 and complete the remaining items in the first quarter of 2027.
However, after 8 months of construction, the progress of some bidding packages has not met requirements. Package XL01 (km4 - km13+900, including Long Thanh bridge) has only reached more than 37% of the contract value, lower than the plan; package XL02 (km13+900 - km25+920) has reached about 30%, about 17% behind schedule.
According to Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC - the investor), the main reasons are contractor capacity, site clearance problems and a shortage of construction materials such as embankment soil and rocks.
The investor has requested contractors to increase manpower and equipment, and at the same time proposed a mechanism to adjust material prices to reduce cost pressure. At the same time, it is proposed that localities accelerate site clearance to ensure construction progress.
Ring Road 3 HCMC
The Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3 project has a total investment of more than 75. 300 billion VND, more than 76 km long, passing through Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong (formerly), Dong Nai and Long An (now Tay Ninh). The project started in June 2023, initially aiming to be completed in mid-2026.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Traffic Construction Investment Project Management Board (the investor), the progress of the entire route through the city before the merger, more than 47 km long, currently reaches about 75%.
The nearly 15 km elevated section through Thu Duc City (formerly) reached about 82%, higher than the general level. Meanwhile, the Western packages through Cu Chi, Hoc Mon and Binh Chanh (formerly) only reached about 67%, due to a shortage of sand for foundation filling and construction stone for a long time.
The investor said that contractors are under great pressure from input costs, especially rising gasoline and oil prices, leading to a simultaneous increase in sand, stone, asphalt and transportation costs.
These factors directly affect the overall progress, causing the completion milestone of the entire route to be postponed to the end of 2026. In addition to Ho Chi Minh City, some sections of Ring Road 3 through other localities are also behind schedule and are expected to be moved from completion milestones to the end of 2026.
Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway
Started in 2014, the Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway has a total initial investment of 31,300 billion VND, after adjustment it is more than 29,500 billion VND.
This is a strategic traffic route connecting the East and Southwest regions, and also connecting Ho Chi Minh City with Dong Nai. However, the project has been delayed many times throughout the implementation process.
Currently, the project has opened to traffic about 32 km in Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai, including Binh Khanh bridge. Phuoc Khanh bridge is under construction, expected to be joined in May 2026 and opened to traffic in the third quarter of 2026.
When Phuoc Khanh bridge is completed, the entire expressway will be connected, contributing to completing the inter-regional traffic network.
Expanding Hanoi Highway and National Highway 1
Hanoi Highway and National Highway 1 are key traffic axes connecting Ho Chi Minh City with Dong Nai. The project to expand the section from Saigon Bridge to Tan Van, 15.7 km long, with a scale of 12 - 16 lanes, was implemented from 2010 with a total investment of 2,516 billion VND, and by 2016 it was adjusted to increase to more than 4,900 billion VND.
Currently, most of the route has been completed, but the section about 2.2 km long from Tan Van intersection to the new Mien Dong Bus Station has not yet been deployed due to site clearance problems.
This area has 201 affected households, but compensation has only been paid to 55 households. The difference in land unit prices between Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong was previously the main reason for the project to be stalled, creating a "bottleneck" that has lasted for many years and often causes congestion.
After the merger, relevant units are completing the adjusted compensation plan, submitting it to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee for consideration and approval. The compensation payment is expected to be implemented from the third quarter of 2026, handing over the site and continuing project construction from the fourth quarter of 2026, completing in 2027.
