Consortium okayed to make investment proposal for metro line linking HCMC with Long Thanh airport

The Dong Nai province People's Committee has allowed a consortium between multi-sector firm DonaCoop and VinaCapital to make an investment proposal for a metro line linking Ho Chi Minh City with Long Thanh International Airport under the PPP (public-private partnership) model.

The Suoi Tien-Long Thanh metro line, with a planned length of 38.5 km, will be divided into three sections.

Section 1, approximately 6.5 km long, will run from Station S0 (connected to Ho Chi Minh City’s Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line) to the new administrative center of Dong Nai province, located in Bien Hoa 1 Industrial Park.

Section 2, about 27 km, will go from the new provincial administrative center to Long Thanh International Airport, approximately 27 km. Section 3, about 5 km, will run from the new provincial administrative center to the central axis road of the old Bien Hoa town center.

The deadline for submitting the investment proposal is a maximum of nine months from the date competent authorities approve the investor's proposal. Dong Nai's Department of Finance has been assigned to receive the investor’s documents.

Previously, the DonaCoop-VinaCapital consoritum submitted a document to the Dong Nai People's Committee seeking permission to prepare an investment proposal for this metro line.

According to preliminary studies, the investor estimates the total investment capital at approximately VND65 trillion ($2.47 billion) (excluding land clearance and compensation costs), and plans to use 100% private capital for the project.

For land clearance, the investor proposed this be treated as a separate component project to be implemented by the State.

The investor also proposed implementing the project under the PPP model with a BT (build-transfer) contract, where payment would be made through land funds along the metro corridor. These lands would be used to develop transit-oriented development (TOD) smart urban areas.

The project is expected to take four to six years from the date of receiving site clearance.

Located about 40 km east of HCMC, Long Thanh International Airport is Vietnam’s biggest aviation infrastructure project to date, with a total investment of VND336.63 trillion ($14.12 billion). The airport is being developed in three phases.

The first phase, nearing completion and slated for opening next year, includes one runway, a passenger terminal, and auxiliary facilities designed to serve 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tons of cargo annually.

Phase 2, scheduled by 2035, will expand capacity to 50 million passengers and 1.5 million tons of cargo by adding a second runway and terminal.

In the final phase, Long Thanh is expected to reach full operational capacity of 100 million passengers and five million tons of cargo per year by 2050.

Once completed, the 5,000-hectare airport will help ease congestion at HCMC's Tan Son Nhat International Airport, which currently operates beyond its 25-million-passenger capacity.