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The bridge across Ong Doc River in Ca Mau Province is nearly finished, with its main section to be connected this November |
Around 23 years ago on May 21, 2000, thousands of inhabitants in the Mekong Delta eagerly joined in the opening ceremony of My Thuan Bridge – the first cable-stayed bridge in Vietnam – to connect the two provinces of Tien Giang and Vinh Long. Their excitement came from the fact that they no longer had to wait hours just for the ferry to cross Tien River, and thus greatly reducing their journey time.
10 years later on April 24, 2010, Can Tho Bridge – the cable stayed bridge with the longest main span in Southeast Asia – crossing Hau River came into operation. That was the last major bridge on the route of National Highway No.1, the most important traffic route in Vietnam. Thanks to both bridges, the trip from HCMC to Can Tho City – the capital of the Southwest or Mekong Delta region – became smoother and quicker.
The recent main connection ceremony of My Thuan 2 Bridge also brought about great pride and eagerness to residents in the Mekong Delta as congestion will be significantly reduced. As a result, produce transportation will be more convenient and cost-efficient.
Yesterday, the groundbreaking ceremony for Dai Ngai Bridge to connect Tra Vinh Province and Soc Trang Province was launched, bringing much hope of easier traffic to local people. Chairman Le Van Han of the Tra Vinh Province People’s Committee said that this is the last major bridge on National Highway No.60 besides Rach Mieu Bridge, Ham Luong Bridge, and Co Chien Bridge.
When completed, the new bridge will increase the traffic capacity to the Mekong Delta thanks to better connections from HCMC to coastal areas in the South of the country. In fact, the bridge can shorten 80km from HCMC to the provinces of Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Soc Trang, and Tra Vinh compared to the traditional National Highway No.1.
In Ca Mau Province, a highly awaited bridge crossing Ong Doc River is nearly finished. Nguyen Phuoc Tien from Song Doc Town of Tran Van Thoi District shared that each day he has to cross the river thrice for work. Using the ferry is rather expensive and time-consuming. He is counting day by day for the bridge to go into operation to release him and other similar people from this burden. On the construction site, over 100 engineers and workers are working hard day and night to finish the project on schedule this November and open to the public at the end of this year as planned.
Rach Mieu 2 Bridge is the construction work that both the political system and local residents in Ben Tre Province put high expectations on as the current Rach Mieu Bridge is frequently congested due to overloading. Starting in 2022, the building work has always attracted much attention of dwellers in the provinces of Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, and Soc Trang in hope of faster and smoother traffic.
Chairman of the Ben Tre Province People’s Committee Tran Ngoc Tam stated that many industrial parks have been planned to take good advantage of key traffic facilities (Rach Mieu Bridge, Ham Luong Bridge, and the to-be Rach Mieu 2 Bridge). Ben Tre Province has proposed the planning of 5,300ha for new urban areas, industrial parks, green agriculture sites, and tourist attractions along both sides of the route leading to Rach Mieu 2 Bridge.
Before this, the province also built various industrial parks along National Highway No.60 such as Giao Long Industrial Park (100ha), An Hiep Industrial Park (72ha). In the future, there will be another industrial park named Phu Thuan with 231ha. The total investment comes to VND2.13 trillion (US$86.9 million).
Chairman Lam Minh Thanh of the Kien Giang Province People’s Committee shared that his province has just approved a comprehensive project for socio-economic infrastructure growth, with a strong focus on traffic improvement to better link to An Giang Province, Can Tho City, Hau Giang Province, Long An Province, and HCMC.
Accordingly, the Lo Te – Rach Soi Expressway will be covered with hot-mix asphalt concrete. The provincial coastal routes and N1 Street from Giang Thanh District to An Giang Province will also be upgraded. When the traffic is more convenient, businesses will pour more investments in the Southwest region to create millions of job openings for local people. There will be no need of migration for work anymore.
