On the map, to the west of Dai Phuoc (formerly in Nhon Trach district, Dong Nai) is Phu My Hung - one of the most livable, modern, and busiest urban areas in Ho Chi Minh City. To the northwest is the industrial park and Cat Lat port - the most vibrant trade center in the region.
Despite being "close to" the country's economic leader, Dai Phuoc for many years has not had the excitement commensurate with its potential, due to a lack of connection infrastructure. To go from this area to Ho Chi Minh City, people mainly choose two directions - via Cat Lai ferry or around Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay highway. One side depends on the capacity of the ferry route, the other side is the journey is many times longer and often subject to rush hour traffic pressure.
The picture gradually changes as continuously from 2025 until now, Dai Phuoc has received many positive signals about infrastructure. The highlight is the three fishing bridges Nhon Trach - Cat Lai - Phu My 2 in three directions: North, West, and South, opening up multi-dimensional connections, contributing to eliminating the gap with Ho Chi Minh City and the Southeast region.
In 2025, Nhon Trach Bridge - part of Ho Chi Minh City's Belt Line 3, will be put into operation, becoming the first piece of the puzzle to help Dai Phuoc connect more conveniently.
The bridge is 2.6 km long, nearly 20 m wide, along with a road leading to both ends nearly 5.6 km long, with a total capital of nearly 6,900 billion VND. Thanks to this project, residents from Dai Phuoc and Nhon Trach can connect directly to the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Day highway to move into Ho Chi Minh City. In addition, because it is part of Ring Road 3, Nhon Trach Bridge also opens a corridor to help Dai Phuoc area connect with other areas of Dong Nai, Ho Chi Minh City, and Tay Ninh.
In mid-June 2026, nearly a year since it was put into use, the project management board proposed that the Ministry of Construction expand the Nhon Trach bridge to synchronize the design of the entire Ring Road 3 route. The unit proposed many plans, including building an additional Nhon Trach 2 bridge parallel to the old bridge. Once completed, phase two of Nhon Trach bridge will accommodate 8 expressway lanes, 4 mixed lanes and 2 motorbike lanes.
If Nhon Trach bridge opens to the North and East of Ho Chi Minh City, Cat Lai bridge will solve a problem that has existed for decades in the West of Dai Phuoc - the ferry problem.
Cat Lai Bridge is 11.6 km long, of which the main bridge is 3 km long, 8 lanes, speed of 80 km/h. The project's starting point is on Nguyen Thi Dinh street (Cat Lai ward, Ho Chi Minh City), the end point connects directly to Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway. Earlier this year, the project officially broke ground, marking the process of realizing the great project more than 30 years after the idea of replacing the Cat Lai ferry with a bridge was put forward. The project has a total preliminary investment of more than 20,500 billion VND in the form of PPP combined with public investment, expected to be completed in 2028.
When completed, the bridge will replace the role of the Cat Lai ferry, and at the same time form a continuous road route instead of the current journey interrupted by the river. From Dai Phuoc, residents will only take about 10 minutes to move to the East area of Ho Chi Minh City, then to Thu Thiem. In the opposite direction, the bridge also creates an additional connection from Ho Chi Minh City to Long Thanh airport in addition to National Highways 1, 51 and Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh Expressway.
About 6 km downstream, Phu My 2 bridge is being prepared to directly connect Dai Phuoc with the South of Ho Chi Minh City.
The bridge has a cable-stayed design, starting at Nguyen Huu Tho street, passing through District 7, old Nha Be, crossing the river and ending at Lien Cang street in Dai Phuoc. The entire route is about 6.3 km long. Bridges and access roads are planned to have a minimum of 8 lanes. The two-story road appears for the first time in Ho Chi Minh City.
The project has a total estimated investment of more than 23,100 billion VND. The expected construction period is from 2026 to 2029. The goal of Phu My 2 is to form a new traffic axis between the city and the old Nhon Trach area and Long Thanh airport, reducing travel time and logistics costs from the South area.
In addition to the above three bridges, the locality is also in the process of investing resources in the land transportation network, turning Dai Phuoc into one of the urban poles in the context of Dong Nai becoming a centrally run city.
Of which, the Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway is nearly 58 km long, connecting the West with the Southeast region. The route passes through the south of Nhon Trach and connects with the transportation system toward Long Thanh airport. This expressway is currently partially operational. When the entire route is completed, the expressway and Belt 3 will create two East - West corridors, bringing the Nhon Trach and Dai Phuoc areas to more convenient access not only to Ho Chi Minh City but also to the Western and Southeast provinces.
In the Long Thanh direction, two routes 25B and 25C are acting as backbones through the Nhon Trach area. Road 25C connects directly to Road T1 of Long Thanh airport in the National Highway 51 area. Some sections have been technically opened to traffic since the end of 2025, while the remaining sections continue to be invested and completed. Road 25B was also upgraded to increase connection capacity with National Highway 51 and the airport.
In the south of Dai Phuoc, Lien Cang road is also being invested in to connect seaports and river ports with the inter-regional transport network. Phase one of the project is nearly 9 km long, with a total capital of more than 2,600 billion VND, passing through Dai Phuoc area. When combined with Phu My 2, 25C and expressways, this axis is expected to increase the ability to circulate goods between the South of Ho Chi Minh City, Nhon Trach port system and Long Thanh airport.
In the long term, the connection between Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai will also be expanded to urban railways. The two localities are preparing to invest in the Thu Thiem - Long Thanh route and extend the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien metro to the administrative center of Dong Nai city and Long Thanh airport. These are projects aimed at forming a mass public transport network between the two cities and an international aviation gateway.
According to the Ministry of Construction, by the end of 2026, the road system connecting Long Thanh airport with Ho Chi Minh City is expected to basically form a continuous, continuous network, including expressways Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay, Bien Hoa - Vung Tau, Ben Luc - Long Thanh, Ring Road 3 and routes 25B and 25C. With its location between Ho Chi Minh City and Long Thanh, Dai Phuoc is one of the areas with the ability to access many axes of this network.
In the period from now to 2030, the transportation network connecting Nhon Trach and Dai Phuoc will enter the completion phase, which is expected to help promote the economy, society, and explore the region's urban potential.
The change in connection takes place right at the time Dai Phuoc enters a new planning cycle. In April, Dong Nai City approved the planning of the Dai Phuoc 1 subdivision of more than 3,131 hectares following the smart, scientific and innovative riverside urban model. Estimated population is 180,000-240,000 people. One month later, the city continued to approve two smart riverside urban projects in the North and South with a total area of about 1,900 hectares. Along with that, many urban projects implemented by large investors in this area are in the completion stage, welcoming residents.
With this planning, infrastructure becomes an important factor for the area to attract population, jobs, trade and services. According to Knight Frank, urbanization and large-scale infrastructure investment are two of the driving forces supporting the long-term prospects of the Vietnamese real estate market. In its report on Asia-Pacific luxury housing markets, this unit also included "infrastructure and mobility" in the group of five criteria to evaluate the attractiveness of a location to buyers and investors.
However, infrastructure does not mean real estate prices will increase according to a fixed formula. The ability to create value also depends on project progress, planning, legality, product quality and more importantly, the ability to create real demand.
For Dai Phuoc, the assessment infrastructure will have a positive impact in many aspects. When travel time is shortened, the labor markets of Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai can get closer together. People living on one side of the river have more options to work, study and use services on the other side. Enterprises have additional freight routes. Industrial, commercial, tourism and service activities are conditioned to expand with the flow of people and capital.
Experts believe that the projects will create a stepping stone for the area to gradually transform from a "peripheral" location into a new urban pole of Dong Nai - especially when the locality has become a central city.
When the flow of people, capital and economic activities prosper thanks to infrastructure, housing projects in the area also have more motivation to develop, opening up new urban space to attract high-quality residents. These are people who choose to move to find urban resort space, health ecological space, and second home right next to the city center.
According to the observations of many experts, when the convenient travel time from the place of residence to the center is only about 20-30 minutes driving, the community of successful and tasteful residents will choose quality living spaces, helping to regenerate, replenish and restore energy every day.
In Dai Phuoc, the Ecovillage Saigon River project developed by the founder of Ecopark is one of the pioneering projects in planning, architecture, landscape and health amenities for residents.
Currently, from the project, residents can follow the existing road network to access Nhon Trach bridge and Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay expressway. In the future, Cat Lai Bridge creates more direct travel to the East of Ho Chi Minh City, while Phu My 2 creates an additional corridor to the south of the city.
The Ecovillage Saigon River project has a construction density of about 15%. About 30% of the area is reserved for green trees and internal water surfaces. In addition, the project benefits directly from more than 32 hectares of river surface passing through. The investor develops high-end health care services such as onsen hot mineral water to bring minerals to the villa, and a 1.5 hectare onsen clubhouse. Residents also have parks and community spaces for energy regeneration, therapy, and recovery.
The founder believes that when the infrastructure is complete, Dai Phuoc will enter the urbanization phase at a faster pace. Therefore, spaces associated with large green areas like Ecovillage Saigon River will be like intangible assets, contributing to increasing the quality of life for families and nurturing many generations.
