Building a development driving force region

​Plan of the passenger terminal of Long Thanh Airport phase 1.

Long Thanh Airport, "the focal point" of the dynamic region

Construction investment project of Long Thanh Airport phase 1 started construction in early 2021. As expected, in 2025, Long Thanh Airport phase 1 will officially complete construction and put into operation with capacity of 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tons of cargo per year. When complete construction, Long Thanh Airport will have the capacity to serve 100 million passengers and 5 million tons of cargo per year. With its position as the largest airport in the country when construction is completed, it is expected that from 2030, Long Thanh Airport will become a transit airport in Southeast Asia and Asia.

This goal is set by the fact that Long Thanh Airport has a huge advantage in terms of geographical location. From Long Thanh Airport, it will only take about 3 hours to fly to all Southeast Asian countries, Asia, connecting China, Korea, and Japan. Therefore, in the future, Long Thanh Airport will be a "gateway" to attract investment, tourism, and elevate Vietnam in the region and the world, not only economically but also in national security and defense.

Mr. Le Anh Tuan, Deputy Minister of Transport said that the Long Thanh Airport project is one of the very important investment targets to promote the competitiveness of the country in general and the Southeast key economic region. When Long Thanh Airport comes into operation, it will promote regional tourism and be the gateway to bring international tourists to Vietnam and Vietnamese tourists to the world. The flow of tourist traffic will bring significant revenue for commercial activities and accompanying services. At the same time, creating favorable conditions for cultural exchanges to raise Vietnam's influence to the region and the world.

Meanwhile, according to Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh, currently, Noi Bai Airport has a capacity of about 40 million passengers per year, Tan Son Nhat Airport serves about 30 million passengers per year. Therefore, with a designed capacity to serve 100 million passengers per year, Long Thanh Airport is a very large-scale airport. With that position, Long Thanh Airport will not only serve the development needs of Dong Nai Province, but will also attract development resources from Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, the Central Highlands provinces, the South Central provinces. In the immediate future, when Long Thanh Airport phase 1 and connecting highways are completed and put into operation, it will help Dong Nai access a developed area with a population of 15-20 million people. "Long Thanh Airport will create a driving force, forming a very strong driving force for development," emphasized Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh.

Invest in building a synchronous transport network soon

Long Thanh Airport is identified as the "nucleus" of the new development driving force. However, in order to realize its full potential, the advantages of the project require that the connecting transport infrastructure system, especially the expressway system, be completed and put into operation synchronously with Long Thanh Airport.

According to the plan, to connect traffic for Long Thanh Airport, there will be 5 Expressways invested and built, including: Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay; Ben Luc - Long Thanh; Dau Giay - Phan Thiet; Dau Giay - Lien Khuong and Bien Hoa - Vung Tau. Among the expressways mentioned above, so far, only the HCMC - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway has been completed and put into operation. However, with the current 4-lane scale, the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway can hardly "take up" enough role in connecting traffic from Long Thanh Airport to Ho Chi Minh City.

Mr. Vu The Phiet, General Director of Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) said, when put into operation, 80% of passengers arriving at Long Thanh Airport will flow to Ho Chi Minh City. Therefore, the project to expand the HCMC - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway should be prioritized for early implementation in order to well exploit Long Thanh Airport.

In addition to the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway, two other highways are currently under construction, including Ben Luc - Long Thanh and Phan Thiet - Dau Giay. It is expected that these routes will be put into operation at the end of 2022 and 2024. Along with that, the other 2 expressways, Bien Hoa - Vung Tau and Dau Giay - Lien Khuong are also in the completing of procedures for construction.

In addition to the expressway system, to connect traffic for Long Thanh Airport, Ring roads 3, 4 - Ho Chi Minh City, Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Railway and Long Thanh - Thu Thiem Airport are also being sped up investment implementation with the goal of "coupling" to complete with Long Thanh Airport.

Also according to Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh, the investment in building a connecting transport infrastructure system for Long Thanh Airport needs to be specifically assigned, specifying which agency will implement it. In the immediate future, it is necessary to quickly determine which unit will implement the HCM City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway Expansion Project. At the same time, study to see if it is necessary to open a new route to connect Long Thanh Airport with Ho Chi Minh City.

  Phan Anh