Ho Chi Minh City’s Party chief Le Thanh Hai led a city delegation to conduct the final inspection of Thu Thiem Tunnel underneath the Saigon River Saturday before it is due to open to traffic on November 20.
Mr. Hai and the delegation checked up works like fire prevention and fighting, emergency exit, lighting, and ventilation.
The delegation also paid a working visit to the tunnel operation center.
HCM City People’s Committee chairman Le Hoang Quan, who also took part in the inspection, said a grand opening ceremony would be held on November 20 for the whole East-West Boulevard project, including the under-river tunnel.
About 500 guests, who represent Vietnam, Japan, diplomatic missions, foreign corporations, and Vietnamese provinces, as well as mass organizations, are expected to join the ceremony, according to Mr. Quan.
The tunnel is built with Japan’s official development assistance capital, in conjunction with a consortium of Japanese contractors.
Once operational, the underground tunnel will help connect the existing urban center of the city with Thu Thiem New Urban Area in District 2.
The tunnel is part of the East-West Boulevard, an important road project just completed to ease the congestion of transport in the inner city as well as transportation from downtown to the Mekong Delta Region, the country’s granary.
