HCMC – Dong Nai Province has proposed the prime minister allow it to develop two railway projects to connect with its two neighbors – HCMC and Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.
One of the two proposed rail lines would link Thu Thiem in HCMC and Long Thanh International Airport in Dong Nai while the other will connect Bien Hoa City in Dong Nai and Vung Tau City in Ba Ria-Vung Tau.
The two lines would be built under the public-private partnership (PPP) format to help fully tap the potential of the forthcoming Long Thanh International Airport in Dong Nai and enhance connectivity between the airport and HCMC and the Cai Mep-Thi Vai international port complex in Ba Ria-Vung Tau.
The two railways would also help ease traffic congestion facing the road systems, including the HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay expressway, National Highway 51 and the planned Bien Hoa-Vung Tau expressway.
As such, it is necessary to carry out the two projects as soon as possible, according to the provincial government.
Earlier on November 1, the prime minister issued a list of projects of national importance for the 2021-2025 period to call for foreign investment, including the two above railways in Dong Nai, the local media reported.
The Thu Thiem-Long Thanh light railway would be 37.5 kilometers long, starting at the Thu Thiem station in Thu Duc City of HCMC, and ending at the Long Thanh International Airport in Dong Nai. The project cost is estimated at over VND40.5 trillion.
The 65-kilometer-long Bien Hoa-Vung Tau railway would run from Trang Bom District in Dong Nai to the Cai Mep-Thi Vai international port complex in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, with a total investment of over VND50.8 trillion.
To call for faster investment in the two projects and open them to traffic at the same time as the completion of the first phase of the Long Thanh airport in 2025, the Dong Nai government proposed the prime minister consider and approve the provincial government as an authorized State agency to develop the two railways, according to Dong Nai.
After the prime minister approves its proposal, the Dong Nai government will quickly conduct a prefeasibility study and work with other relevant departments and agencies to begin the construction of the two railways in sync with the construction progress of the airport.
In November 2020, the prime minister approved a plan to develop the first phase of the Long Thanh International Airport, with a capacity of 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tons of cargo per year.
