The southern province of Dong Nai will build four routes linking localities with the area of Long Thanh International Airport whose construction began earlier this month.

Located 40km to the east of Ho Chi Minh City, the Long Thanh airport is expected to relieve overloading at the current Tan Son Nhat international airport in the southern metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City, now the country’s largest airport.

According to Nguyen Bon, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Transport, the construction of the roads is expected to cost thousands of trillions of Vietnam dong.

The routes include three directly leading to the airport, notably one running from the intersection with road DT 763 in Dinh Quan district, Dong Nai province, to National Highway 51 in Long Thanh district.

The route, with investment of VND2.3 trillion (US$99.2 million), has been regarded as a strategic road connecting Long Khanh city and such districts as Dinh Quan, Thong Nhat and Cam My with the airport.

The other aims to connect localities in the eastern part of Dong Nai, and ease overloads for National Highways 1A and 20, and the Dau Giay intersection.

Dong Nai also plans to expand and upgrade seven routes in order to facilitate the trading of goods among 32 industrial parks in the province.

Cao Tien Dung, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said Dong Nai has seen Long Thanh airport as the driver for its districts and cities to grow further, saying the province will develop a synchronous, modern transport network to optimise potential and advantages generated by the airport.

Construction of the first detail of Long Thanh International Airport started on January 5.

The airport will be built in three phases over three decades, and is expected to become the country’s largest airport.

In the first phase, one runway with a length of 4,000m, taxiways, an apron, and a passenger terminal with other auxiliary works sprawling 373,000 sq.m will be built to serve 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo each year.

The airport is designed to have four runways, four passenger terminals, and other auxiliary facilities to ensure a capacity of 100 million passengers and 5 million tonnes of cargo a year by 2040.

Covering a total area of more than 5,580ha, the airport will straddle six communes in Long Thanh district. It is expected to cost VND336.63 trillion (US$14.5 billion), with the first phase needing over VND109 trillion.

Around 4,800 households and 26 organisations are expected to be relocated to make way for it.

Located 40km to the east of Ho Chi Minh City, Long Thanh airport is expected to relieve overloading at Tan Son Nhat international airport in the southern metropolis, now the country’s largest airport.