Traffic jams surround the airport gateway
At noon on November 27, traffic at the gateway to Tan Son Nhat airport (Tan Binh district) was severely congested. At Lang Cha Ca roundabout, where Tran Quoc Hoan, Cong Hoa, Hoang Van Thu and Thang Long streets intersect, the traffic was crowded and moving slowly. Cars lined up in long lines, while motorbikes honked continuously, trying to squeeze through narrow spaces.
Mr. Phan An (36 years old, Tan Binh district) shared: "This area is usually very crowded, but now the traffic jams not only happen during morning and afternoon rush hours, but also last until noon."
In particular, Cong Hoa Street - the main route connecting Districts 12, Tan Phu, Tan Binh with the city center and Tan Son Nhat airport is often congested. Currently, traffic density on this route has exceeded 142% of the design.
Key intersections such as Cong Hoa - Hoang Hoa Tham or Lang Cha Ca roundabout have become traffic jam "black spots". In the first 9 months of the year, Lang Cha Ca roundabout alone recorded 127 traffic jams.
Similarly, Truong Chinh Street is also overloaded, especially from Cong Hoa to Au Co. This "bottleneck" caused 569 traffic jams in the first 9 months of this year alone.
Delayed "rescue" projects
To reduce traffic pressure around the airport, Ho Chi Minh City has implemented many key traffic infrastructure projects. Of which, the Tran Quoc Hoan - Cong Hoa connecting road project with a total investment of more than VND4,800 billion is considered the "key card". This 4km long, 6-lane road will directly connect to Tan Son Nhat Airport's T3 terminal (under construction), opening up more access to the airport and breaking the monopoly at the entrance to Truong Son Street.
However, after 2 years of construction, the project progress has only reached about 85% due to problems in site clearance. Although the Tran Quoc Hoan - Phan Thuc Duyen underpass has been opened to traffic and the mid-route roads and the overpass in front of T3 station have been completed from 75 - 99%, package 13 - the final section of the route connecting to Truong Chinh is still sluggish because it has not received enough land from 68 households.
Mr. Luong Minh Phuc - Director of the Management Board of Investment and Construction of Traffic Works of Ho Chi Minh City, said that the city aims to open the entire route to traffic by December 31, 2024. However, package 13 may be extended until February 2025 if Tan Binh district does not hand over enough land soon.
Not far away, the Hoang Hoa Tham Street expansion project with a total investment of nearly 300 billion VND, widening the road surface to 22m, also faced a similar situation. It was expected to open to traffic at the end of this year, but the plan was ruined due to the delay in handing over the site.
The Tan Ky - Tan Quy road upgrade project, nearly 2km long from Binh Long to Ma Lo, is also an important link connecting the airport with the southwestern area of Ho Chi Minh City. The project was aimed to be completed in October this year to reduce traffic congestion, but has yet to reach its finish line.
Meanwhile, the Tan Ky - Tan Quy bridge construction project, restarted in June 2024 after 6 years of stagnation, has only reached 20% of the work volume due to the relocation of the electrical system. The main bridge is expected to be completed in January 2025, instead of the end of this year as planned.
Mr. Luong Minh Phuc emphasized that although contractors have focused on construction, the progress of projects to "rescue" airport congestion depends largely on the speed of site handover.
"If Tan Binh district keeps its commitment to hand over 100% of the site by November 30, we will try to complete the projects in the first half of January 2025 to serve people during the peak of the Lunar New Year," said Mr. Phuc.
Dr. Vo Kim Cuong - former Deputy Chief Architect of Ho Chi Minh City - commented that solving infrastructure bottlenecks around the airport not only requires efforts from local authorities but also requires close coordination between functional agencies and people in compensation and site clearance work.
"In the context of the approaching Lunar New Year, projects need to be completed soon to reduce congestion," Mr. Cuong emphasized.
