After more than two months of construction, the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh expressway expansion project is entering the peak construction phase. According to Lao Dong, the working atmosphere along the route is urgent all day and night, especially vibrant in Dong Nai - where the site has been basically completed.
On the Dong Nai River, barges, cranes and drilling machines are operating continuously to construct the new Long Thanh bridge piers, the item that determines the progress of the entire project. On shore, engineers and workers take turns working, focusing on drilling piles, pouring foundations, and supervising techniques.
According to the Southern Expressway Project Management Board (SEPMU, under VEC), Long Thanh Bridge is the "gasoline" item of the entire route, prioritized for top-notch construction. Contractors are mobilizing maximum human resources and equipment to expand the existing bridge from 4 to 8 lanes. Five large equipment clusters including barges, cranes and drilling machines were deployed simultaneously under the Dong Nai River. Thanks to the land fund for phase 1, Dong Nai can construct many items in parallel.
Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City is facing difficulties due to land clearance problems.Despite the gathering of enough machinery, materials and human resources, the progress is still slow.The representative of the XL1 package contractor said that the unit has just been handed over a 56 m wide land plot, while the construction corridor needs to be 1720 m.
Currently, the XL1 package has reached about 80% of the plan, the XL2 package nearly 40%.Most of the activities are concentrated around the Long Thanh bridge area.The XL1 package mobilizes more than 650 workers and 120 equipment; the XL2 package has more than 230 personnel and 100 machines, mainly for construction of service roads and bored piles.Many items are still slow due to the lack of detailed construction drawings for the relocation of electricity, fiber optic cables, and water supply.
The Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh Expressway expansion project is 21.92 km long, invested by VEC, with a total capital of more than VND 14,945 billion. The route starts at the Ring Road 2 intersection (HCMC) and ends at the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway (Dong Nai) with the main axis leading to the future Long Thanh International Airport.
According to the design, the section from Ring Road 2 to Ring Road 3 will be expanded from 4 to 8 lanes; the section from Ring Road 3 to Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway will be expanded from 4 to 10 lanes. Long Thanh Bridge alone will build an additional parallel bridge 23.75 m wide, with 5 lanes and an emergency lane.
The project is an emergency project, started on August 19, 2025, expected to be basically completed by the end of 2026, in line with the progress of phase 1 of Long Thanh airport. Long Thanh Bridge will be closed in December 2026 and fully completed in March 2027.
In early October, VEC proposed that the Ministry of Construction, the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City and the People's Committee of Dong Nai province speed up site clearance, ensure progress, and soon complete the main expressway connecting Ho Chi Minh City with Long Thanh airport and the key economic region in the South.
