Traffic on the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh Highway has increased by an average of over 10.4% per year. The road is currently in a state of constant overload and congestion.
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Investment scale in line with the master plan
Accordingly, the Ministry of Transport agreed to the scope of investment proposed by the State Capital Management Committee and VEC, ranging from the Ring Road 2 Interchange to the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway Interchange (from Km 4+000 to Km 25+920).
The Ministry of Transport also agreed to the investment scale proposed by the State Capital Management Committee and VEC, with the section from Ring Road 2 to Ring Road 3 having 8 lanes, and the section from Ring Road 3 to the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway Interchange having 10 lanes. The new Long Thanh Bridge will have the same scale as the existing bridge.
“The proposed investment scale is in line with the approved road network master plan,” said the Ministry of Transport.
Regarding the investment format, the Ministry of Transport supports the option for VEC to mobilize 100% of the capital for expansion and organize operation, exploitation, and toll collection for repayment of the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh section in accordance with the Law on Investment.
Consider using VEC capital for site clearance
The proposal to use central/local budget for site clearance is not in line with the Law on Investment (investors must pay site clearance costs).
“In case of using state budget capital for site clearance, the project will have to go through procedures in accordance with the Law on Public Investment and will encounter many difficulties. The State Capital Management Committee and VEC need to consider using VEC’s mobilized capital for site clearance,” the Ministry of Transport requested.
Regarding the financial mechanism for the expansion of the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh Expressway section, the Ministry of Transport believes that it is necessary to consider and allow VEC to consolidate and postpone repayment of principal and interest of the construction bonds that the Ministry of Finance has advanced as proposed by the State Capital Management Committee. In addition, to mobilize commercial loans of VND 9,400 billion, VEC needs to soon complete the procedures for submitting to the competent authorities for consideration and decision on increasing its charter capital accordingly.
The Ministry of Transport also said that its investment capital for the 2021-2025 period is no longer available, and if the 2026-2030 investment capital is used, the project will not be completed to meet the progress of the Long Thanh International Airport. Therefore, the Ministry of Transport also supports the investment plan for the expansion of the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh section proposed by the State Capital Management Committee.
Nearly VND 15,000 billion investment for expansion
Previously, the State Capital Management Committee (Capital Management Committee) reported to the Government leaders on the investment plan for the expansion of the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh section of the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway project.
According to the proposed plan, the scope of the project will expand the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh section over a total length of nearly 22km. The starting point is at Km 4+000 (Ring Road 2 Interchange) in Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City. The endpoint is at Km 25+920 (Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway Interchange) in Long Thanh District, Dong Nai Province.
In terms of scale, the section from Ring Road 2 Interchange to Ring Road 3 Interchange (Km 4+00 to Km 8+770) will be invested with 8 lanes according to the master plan. The section from Ring Road 3 Interchange to Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway Interchange (Km 8+770 to Km 25+920) will be invested with 10 lanes according to the master plan.
Long Thanh Bridge will be invested in building a new bridge unit with the same scale as the existing bridge, with traffic organization and exploitation with a scale of 10 lanes (the front cham does not arrange an emergency lane, combining traffic organization with 5 lanes on each side of 3.5m wide).
With the above plan, the total investment of the project is about VND 14,955 billion (including interest during the construction period). Of which, owner’s equity is over VND 5,555 billion (37%), and commercial loans are VND 9,400 billion (63%).
To ensure resources for project implementation, the construction investment item is proposed for the State-owned enterprise (VEC) to mobilize 100% of capital and organize management, exploitation, and toll collection for repayment (implementing the investment plan in accordance with the Law on Investment).
The site clearance item (over VND 900 billion) will use the central budget/local budget (Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai), and it is recommended that the Prime Minister separate it into an independent project, assigning it to the locality to implement in the form of public investment.
According to the State Capital Management Committee, VEC is currently allocating/arranging over VND 7,547 billion from the company’s legal capital sources to replace public investment capital to implement the remaining items of the Ben Luc-Long Thanh Highway construction project.
Therefore, to ensure the ability to mobilize owner’s equity for project investment, based on VEC’s proposal, the State Capital Management Committee recommends that the competent authority consider and allow VEC to consolidate and postpone repayment of principal and interest related to the bonds that the Ministry of Finance has advanced to repay.
In case the Prime Minister approves the consolidation and postponement of repayment of principal and interest related to the bonds that the Ministry of Finance has advanced to repay, the cumulative cash flow after tax of the five projects is always positive (the lowest level in 2026 is VND 669 billion). It is expected that VEC will allocate about VND 5,555 billion to invest in expanding the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh project according to the proposed plan.
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The Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway Phase 1 has a scale of 4 lanes, a length of 54km, and is part of the North-South Expressway Axis in the Eastern Region. This is the first expressway to be invested and constructed in the key economic region of the South and has been in operation since 2015. According to VEC, traffic on the route has increased by an average of over 10.4% per year. The road is currently in a state of constant overload and congestion. The leaders of Dong Nai Province believe that with 4 lanes, the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway is currently overloaded. Therefore, when Long Thanh Airport is put into operation, this expressway will not be able to handle the traffic volume. As a result, they proposed expanding the route to 8-10 lanes as soon as possible. |
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