An artist’s impression of the Rạch Miễu 2 Bridge project. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Construction on the cable-stayed Rạch Miễu No 2 Bridge, crossing the Tiền River and connecting Tiền Giang and Bến Tre provinces started on Tuesday.

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 Đồng Tâm Intersection in Tiền Giang Province’s Châu Thành District and ends at the intersection of National Highway No 6 and the road to Hàm Luông Bridge in Bến Tre Province’s Bến Tre City.

Speaking at the launch ceremony held in Bến Tre Province, Deputy Prime Minister Lê Minh Khái 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 Lương to Hàm Luông Bridge has been expanded to four lanes. However, the existing Rạch Miễu Bridge, located at the central gateway of Mỹ Tho and Bến Tre cities and stretching over 8.3km, has only two lanes.

Since Cổ Chiên Bridge was put into use in 2015, traffic volume on National Highway 60 has increased dramatically. As a result, Rạch Miễu 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 Rạch Miễu No 2 Bridge with the State budget in order to gradually improve the transport network in the region.

Deputy Prime Minister Lê Minh Khái delivers a speech at the launch ceremony to start construction of Rạch Miễu No 2 Bridge, which connects Tiền Giang and Bến Tre provinces. — VNA/VNS Photo Huỳnh Phúc Hậu

Regarding the construction process of Rạch Miễu No 2 Bridge, Deputy PM Khái 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.

Khái also requested the People's Committees of Bến Tre and Tiền 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.

Khái 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 Nguyễn Duy Lâm said Rạch Miễu No 2 Bridge crossing the Tiền River and connecting the two provinces was invested by the Ministry of Transport and managed by the Mỹ Thuận Project Management Board.

Rạch Miễu Bridge No 2 will be 3.8 kilometres upstream of the existing Rạch Miễu Bridge No 1.

The total investment in the project is VNĐ5.17 trillion (US$221 million), including VNĐ3.2 trillion ($138 million) for construction and VNĐ705 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 Bến Tre Province Trần Ngọc 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 Bến Tre Province and other localities in the region. — VNS