Construction on the cable-stayed Rach Mieu No. 2 Bridge, crossing the Tien River and connecting Tien Giang and Ben Tre provinces started on Tuesday.
An artist’s impression of the Rach Mieu 2 Bridge project. — VNA/VNS Photo
The cable-stayed bridge has a total length of 17.6 kilometres with six lanes for traffic and is designed with a maximum speed of 80kph. It starts from Dong Tam Intersection in Tien Giang Province’s Chau Thanh District and ends at the intersection of National Highway No 6 and the road to Ham Luong Bridge in Ben Tre Province’s Ben Tre City.
Speaking at the launch ceremony held in Ben Tre Province, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai said the Mekong Delta had a lot of potential and advantages in terms of natural conditions and labour force, which would help economic development.
In recent years, the Government had paid great attention to investing in infrastructure for the region. However, transport infrastructure had not met socio-economic requirements.
National Highway No 60, as the coastal corridor connecting the southern coastal provinces with HCM City and the southeast region, plays a very important role in socio-economic development and regional defence and security.
Currently, National Highway 60 passing Trung Luong to Ham Luong Bridge has been expanded to four lanes. However, the existing Rach Mieu Bridge, located at the central gateway of My Tho and Ben Tre cities and stretching over 8.3 km, has only two lanes.
Since Co Chien Bridge was put into use in 2015, traffic volume on National Highway 60 has increased dramatically. As a result, Rach Mieu Bridge has frequently encountered traffic jams due to a significant number of vehicles, reaching 18,000 to 20,000 daily.
In 2020, the Prime Minister approved the construction project of Rach Mieu No. 2 Bridge with the State budget in order to gradually improve the transport network in the region.
Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai delivers a speech at the launch ceremony to start construction of Rach Mieu No. 2 Bridge, which connects Tien Giang and Ben Tre provinces. — VNA/VNS Photo Huynh Phuc Hau
Regarding the construction process of Rach Mieu No. 2 Bridge, Deputy PM Khai asked the Ministry of Transport to direct the Project Management Board to drastically accelerate progress and ensure project quality, including supervision to detect and solve any problems.
Khai also requested the People's Committees of Ben Tre and Tien Giang provinces to perform site clearance, compensation and resettlement support in accordance with the law.
Local authorities must pay attention to the economic life of people in the resettlement area, which must be equal to or better than their existing locations, so that people can stabilise their lives and continue to support investment and construction projects.
He reminded local authorities to review mineral mines in the area to ensure adequate and timely supply for the project on schedule.
Khai said the project contractor must uphold the sense of responsibility in the process of performing the assigned tasks and committed contracts, improve working methods and mobilise modern equipment and technology to strive to complete it within the set schedule and ensure environmental protection.
The consulting units must control and speed up progress to ensure the quality and efficiency of the project.
Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Duy Lam said Rach Mieu No. 2 Bridge crossing the Tien River and connecting the two provinces was invested by the Ministry of Transport and managed by the My Thuan Project Management Board.
Rach Mieu Bridge No. 2 will be 3.8 kilometres upstream of the existing Rach Mieu Bridge No. 1.
The total investment in the project is VND5.17 trillion (US$221 million), including VND3.2 trillion ($138 million) for construction and VND705 billion ($30.4 million) for compensation and site clearance.
The project is divided into six bidding packages. It starts construction in March and is expected to be put into operation in 2025.
Chairman of the People's Committee of Ben Tre Province Tran Ngoc Tam said that the project was among 11 key projects of the province.
Once completed, the project would contribute to completing the national road network, creating favourable conditions for travelling demand and goods transportation, and accelerating socio-economic development of both Ben Tre Province and other localities in the region.