Local investors have proposed a project to build an elevated highway system providing access to Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City.

The potential construction is expected to cost VND3.5 trillion (US$157 million) and will be aimed at alleviating traffic congestion at the entrance to the aerodrome, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport.

The project will possibly be undertaken by the Ho Chi Minh City-based Dong Mekong Co. Ltd., the Hanoi-based Dong A Infrastructure Corp and the Corporation 319 under the Ministry of Defense.

The public-private partnership details an elevated highway system just over five kilometers in length, including six ramps.

The highway system will have its width vary in different sections between 7.5 and 12.5 meters.

The main highway is designed to run 2.6 kilometers from Truong Son Street to Terminals T1 and T2, and the upcoming Terminal T3 at Tan Son Nhat in Tan Binh District, and will connect Nguyen Van Troi and Hoang Van Thu Streets.

Bui Xuan Cuong, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport, said that the system would tie in with the recently-proposed highway project No. 1, another elevated highway construction, which is expected to run from Cong Hoa in Tan Binh to Phu An Bridge in Binh Thanh District.

In late August, the municipal Department of Transport officially opened the Tan Son Nhat – Binh Loi – Vanh Dai Ngoai (Outer Belt) route connecting Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Tan Binh with Go Vap, Binh Thanh, and Thu Duc Districts.

One of many expensive attempts to alleviate traffic congestion at the entrance to the airport and on nearby roads, according to many commuters the new route has proven ineffective, as gridlocks are still common in the area during peak traffic times.