Gateway to Tan Son Nhat airport sought to be cleared of median strip

In a statement sent to related agencies, the department said the strip it wanted to remove spread 170 m long and 2.5 m wide in front of Hoang Van Thu Park near the Lang Cha Ca roundabout, the main gateway to the airport in Tan Binh District.

It now separates Tran Quoc Hoan with one side spreading 14 m wide with four lanes and the other side 3m wide with one lane.

There are currently trees and other plants growing on the strip.

The department said the removal would give more space for vehicles, reducing the chronic traffic jams on the way to the airport.

However, removing the strip would mean many trees being cut down and infrastructure including a power station, light poles, and a bus station being removed.

The city is building a new road near to the median strip that the department suggested removing.

The new road project with six lanes will stretch 4 km to link Tran Quoc Hoan and Cong Hoa streets, both of which lead to the airport.

Tan Son Nhat is the country's busiest airport with an average of 60,000-70,000 passengers per day.

Last year it served 34 million passengers, against a designed capacity of 28 million.