A National Assembly supervisory delegation led by Nguyen Hong Dien inspected on May 14 progress on component projects at Long Thanh Airport and the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway project alongside officials from the Ministry of Construction, Dong Nai Province and related agencies.
The delegation reviewed major airport components including two runways, the passenger terminal and the T1 and T2 airport access roads.
National Assembly Vice Chairman visits workers building the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway (Photo: Hoang Binh).
Speaking at the construction site, Deputy Construction Minister Le Anh Tuan said major transport routes connecting Long Thanh Airport with Ho Chi Minh City include the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway, the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway, the Ben Luc-Long Thanh Expressway, Ring Road 3 and provincial roads 25B and 25C.
According to Tuan, the main sections of component projects 2 and 3 on the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway have already been put into operation, while the main route of component project 1 is expected to open later in May.
For the Ben Luc-Long Thanh Expressway, final construction works are being accelerated, with the entire route expected to become operational in September.
Meanwhile, Ring Road 3 in Ho Chi Minh City is scheduled to open fully in June.
The Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway is currently being expanded from four lanes to between eight and 10 lanes. Most of the expansion project is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, while the Long Thanh Bridge section is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2027.
National Assembly Vice Chairman Nguyen Hong Dien, right, hears a progress report on construction of the Long Thanh Airport passenger terminal (Photo: Hoang Binh).
Tuan said that once the expansion is completed, travel time from central Ho Chi Minh City to Long Thanh Airport would be reduced to around 30 minutes.
He added that the expressway would become the main transport corridor for approximately 75 per cent of passengers travelling between the airport and Ho Chi Minh City.
The deputy minister also said travel time from Thu Thiem, where Ho Chi Minh City plans to develop a new administrative centre, to Long Thanh Airport would also take around 30 minutes.
Reporting to the National Assembly delegation, Tuan said that with the completion of major road projects and ongoing construction of roads 25B and 25C by Dong Nai authorities, concerns over transport connectivity between Long Thanh Airport and Ho Chi Minh City were expected to be largely resolved by the end of this year.
At the inspection, Vu Pham Nguyen An, director of the Long Thanh Airport project management board, said construction schedules for key packages had been revised to ensure completion by year-end.
Around 3,000 officials, engineers and workers are currently involved in the passenger terminal construction package alone.
Workers at the Long Thanh Airport passenger terminal construction site (Photo: Hoang Binh).
An added that approximately 95 per cent of imported equipment required for the project had already arrived at the construction site, with around 80 per cent installed.
However, he said the project continued to face challenges related to labour shortages and rising fuel prices affecting contractors.
Construction manpower currently meets only 60 per cent of demand.
Since early May, authorities have disbursed funds to contractors and are continuing to complete procedures for further payments to remaining units.