According to the Ministry of Transport, a 21.92-km expressway section connecting HCMC and Long Thanh of neighboring Dong Nai Province will be widened from 8 to 10 lanes.
The project also includes the construction of a Long Thanh bridge of similar scale to the current one with 10 lanes from Ring Road 3 intersection to the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau junction. The project has a total investment of more than VND14,339 billion (US$562 million) and will be implemented from 2024 to 2028. The investment preparation work is expected to be completed by February 2025
HCMC Ring Road 4 has a total length of 207 kilometers, running through HCMC and neighboring provinces including Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, and Long An.
According to pre-feasibility study reports on the construction of Ring Road 4 of localities, the project must meet the standards of four lanes in the first phase.
During the first phase, the project's site clearance will be carried out in accordance with the design standards for highways with eight lanes with a total capital of VND127,230 billion under the form of a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) contract.
The Ministry of Transport has also delegated the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam to closely coordinate with the departments of transport of localities to update the route alignment planning of Ring Road 4 in the document of the plan on road infrastructure in the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050. The file is expected to be submitted for the competent authority’s approval in the third quarter of 2024.
Deputy Minister of Transport Le Anh Tuan said that the proposal for adding the expansion project of the HCMC - Long Thanh expressway and the construction project of Ring Road 4 to the list of key national projects shows the special significance of these projects for the development of the transportation network in the southern key economic region, contributing to reducing traffic overload on the routes in the region.
Ring Road 4 will also play a crucial role in urban connectivity, serving as infrastructure for the southern key economic region. The provinces in the region can directly connect when the project is put into operation.
Adding to the list of national key projects, the two projects will be accelerated thanks to the separate management and supervision mechanisms of the State Steering Committee on key national transport projects headed by the Prime Minister with leaders from relevant ministries, and localities as members.
Vice Chairman of the Commission for the Management of State Capital at Enterprises (CMSC) Nguyen Ngoc Canh noted that the expansion project of the HCMC - Long Thanh expressway could be completed and put into operation by December 2027, shortening the timeline by 6 months compared to Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC)'s proposal.
According to the Ministry of Transport, there are currently 34 major projects and 86 component projects in the list of national transport key projects in 46 centrally-run provinces and cities. Among these, there are five railway projects and two airport projects, and the remaining are road projects, mainly expressways and ring roads.
