TIỀN GIANG – The Ministry of Transport has been asked to approve the construction of a major bridge across Tiền River, connecting the Mekong Delta provinces of Tiền Giang and Bến Tre.

The bridge, officially called Rạch Miễu No2 Bridge project, is intended to solve the current traffic overload on Rạch Miễu No1 Bridge and nearby highways, as well as promote economic development in the Mekong Delta. Rạch Miễu No1 Bridge also connects Tiền Giang and Bến Tre and is near the site of the planned second bridge.

The bridge is expected to cost VNĐ4,434 billion ( US$194.5 million). It will have four lanes with a width of 17 metres and will be designed for vehicles traveling at 80km per hour.

Though the Ministry of Transport has recently upgraded roads and bridges in the area, a leader of Project Management Unit 7 said that traffic had increased faster than the pace of investment. Traffic congestion frequently occurs on the two-lane Rạch Miễu No1 Bridge, especially when the number of vehicles increases during peak hours and on holidays.

If the bridge is approved, project preparation is expected to end in the fourth quarter of 2018, and construction on the bridge is slated to begin in the first quarter of 2019. Construction would take five years.

The overseeing Project Management Unit 7 has called for investment from Korea’s Economic Development Co-operation Fund (EDCF) to support the project. Of the project’s estimated cost of US$194.5 million,  about $153.1 million will come from EDCF’s official development assistance (ODA). The rest ($41.4 million) will come from reciprocal capital from the Government.   -- VNS