Thu Thiem- Long Thanh Airport Light Rail Transit is appropriate and necessary

​Construction of Long Thanh Airport phase 1.

Specifically, for the Thu Thiem - Long Thanh Airport Light Rail Transit Route, the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City said, according to the project of developing transport infrastructure in Ho Chi Minh City in the period 2020-2030, in the period 2026 -2030, the HCMC urban railway line No. 2 - phase 2 (Ben Thanh - Thu Thiem section and Tham Luong - Western bus station) will be in construction. Therefore, the connection between Thu Thiem Station and Long Thanh Airport is appropriate and necessary, creating a synchronous and smooth traffic network, meeting the travel demands of people and passengers, contributing to reducing traffic congestion and accidents.

Regarding the proposal to assign the People's Committee of Dong Nai province to be the competent state agency to implement the project, the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City said that the Railway Law 2017, does not stipulate that the Provincial People's Committee organizes investment in railway lines belonging to the national railway network.

According to the Prime Minister's decision on the national list of projects calling for foreign investment in the 2021-2025 period, the contact agency for the above light rail transit project is the Public-Private Partnership Department (Ministry of Transport).

Regarding project implementation in the form of Public-Private Partnership (PPP), Decree No. 35/2021/ND-CP of the Government guides, for projects going through two or more provinces, localities with the project must report Provincial People's Councils to consider and agree on the proposal for project implementation. The proposed content includes the project name, scale, location, total preliminary investment, State investment capital in the PPP project and division of responsibility for payment of budget sources of each locality. Based on the written consent of the People's Council of the province, the People's Committee of the province shall agree with the specialized ministry on the assignment of a locality as a competent agency.

Therefore, the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City said that Dong Nai Province needs to closely coordinate with the Ministry of Transport to propose the competent authority to decide to assign the competent authority to implement the light rail transit project to ensure proper authority and compliance in accordance with regulations on PPP investment, railway regulations and the general policy of the Government.

In case the conditions are fully satisfied, the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City unanimously proposes the People's Committee of Dong Nai Province to be the competent agency to implement the project under the method of Public-Private Partnership (PPP).

Thu Thiem - Long Thanh Light Rail Transit Project is 37.5 km long, starting point at Thu Thiem Station, Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City; the end point at Long Thanh Airport. Total investment is expected to be more than VND40.5 trillion, invested in the form of Public-Private Partnership (PPP).