The Ho Chi Minh City transport department is evaluating a plan to build an elevated highway connecting Tan Son Nhat International Airport with the city center in an attempt to ease traffic congestion on overloaded airport roads.

Ho Chi Minh City Infrastructure Investment Joint Stock Company (CII) recently proposed a plan to the municipal Department of Transport calling for the construction of the city’s first elevated highway.

The proposal details a highway running 9.5 kilometers from Cong Hoa Street in Tan Binh District to the Phu An Bridge in Binh Thanh District.

Le Quoc Binh, director general at CII, said the company was conducting surveys to sketch a detailed investment plan for the project, which is estimated to cost VND15 trillion (US$670 million).

Upon its opening, the highway is expected to ease traffic congestion at the Lang Cha Ca intersection in Tan Binh District and clear up Tan Son Nhat Airport’s connecting roads.

According to Vu Xuan Nguyen, head of the Division of Road Transport Construction Management under the Ho Chi Minh City transport department, the city plans to build five such elevated highways, and a consortia of investors have already submitted proposals for the various projects.

For the moment, Nguyen said, the city places the construction of the first elevated highway as its top priority, followed by another running 7.3 kilometers between District 12 and District 1, and a highway spanning 34 kilometers between Thu Duc District and Binh Chanh District.

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