Hanoi (VNA) – The southern province ofDong Nai will build four routes linking localities with the area of Long ThanhInternational Airport whose construction began earlier this month.

According to Nguyen Bon, Deputy Director of theprovincial Department of Transport, the construction of the roads, eachstretching 45-60m, is expected to cost thousands of trillions of Vietnam dong.

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

The route, with investment of 2.3 trillion VND (99.2million USD), has been regarded as a strategic road connecting Long Khanh cityand such districts as Dinh Quan, Thong Nhat and Cam My with the airport.

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

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

Cao Tien Dung, Chairman of the provincial People’sCommittee, said Dong Nai has seen Long Thanh airport as the driver for itsdistricts and cities to grow further, saying the province will develop asynchronous, modern transport network to optimise potential and advantagesgenerated by the airport.

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

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

In the first phase, one runway with a lengthof 4,000m, taxiways, an apron, and a passenger terminal with other auxiliaryworks sprawling 373,000 sq.m will be built to serve 25 million passengers and1.2 million tonnes of cargo each year.

The airport is designed to have four runways,four passenger terminals, and other auxiliary facilities to ensure a capacityof 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 expectedto cost 336.63 trillion VND (14.5 billion USD), with the first phase needingover 109 trillion VND.

Around 4,800 households and 26 organisationsare 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 Nhatinternational airport in the southern metropolis, now the country’s largestairport./.