Traffic congestion often occurs on Tran Quoc Hoan Road and Cong Hoa Road near Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: VnExpress/Quynh Tran).

To cope with the traffic expected when a third terminal is built, the city’s appraisal board has proposed increasing the cost of the Tran Quoc Hoan-Cong Hoa road project from VND1.4 trillion ($60.2 million) to VND4.8 trillion ($206.5 million). In 2016 authorities had proposed making it a four-lane road.

The road will be constructed by 2024 alongside the existing Tran Quoc Hoan Road. 

The Tran Quoc Hoan-Cong Hoa road, to the south of Tan Son Nhat International Airport, will run 4.4 kilometers with its width ranging between 29.5 meters and 48 meters. It will have two tunnels.

Land acquisition will account for 55 percent of the cost, construction for 36 percent and the rest for project consulting and management fees, the appraisal board, headed by HCMC’s Vice Chairman Tran Vinh Tuyen, said.

The change has been proposed following the Ministry of Transport’s approval for the third terminal by 2030, which would double the airport’s capacity to 50 million passengers a year.

The appraisal board has sought approval from the city People’s Committee.

Tran Quoc Hoan – Cong Hoa Road is a key route to the airport, one that is usually congested and awaiting widening.

Tan Son Nhat served 38 million passengers last year, up 6.4 percent from 2017, way above its designed capacity of 25 million.

Cre: Huu Nguyen – VnExpress

Nguyen Xuan Nghia – COMM