Mỹ Thuận 2 Bridge will have six lanes and a speed limit of 80 kilometres per hour. — Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Transport.

HÀ NỘI — Construction started on Thursday on the Mỹ Thuận 2 Bridge to connect the Trung Lương-Mỹ Thuận and Mỹ Thuận-Cần Thơ expressways between HCM City and Cần Thơ, linking the two economic powerhouses of the southern region.

The construction is forecast for completion in 2023 to facilitate traffic in the Mekong Delta.

The Mỹ Thuận 2 Bridge will start from An Thái intersection on the Trung Luong-Mỹ Thuận Expressway in Tiền Giang Province’s Cái Bè District and end at the intersection with National Highway 80, the starting point of the Mỹ Thuận-Cần Thơ Expressway.

It is located 350 metres upstream from the existing Mỹ Thuận Bridge on the Tiền River.

The bridge and approach roads will have a total length of 6.61 kilometres. The approach road in Tiền Giang Province will be 4.33 kilometres long and the approach road in Vĩnh Long Province will be 0.4 kilometres.

The main bridge will have a length of 1.9 kilometres and six lanes with a speed limit of 80 kilometres per hour.

The bridge, part of the Eastern North-South expressway project, will cost an estimated VNĐ5 trillion (US$216 million).

When it opens, it is expected to ease traffic pressure on the existing Mỹ Thuận Bridge and National Highway 1A.

The project is one of 11 sections of the North-South Expressway master project with a total length of 654 kilometres traversing 13 provinces and cities.

Three sections are being funded by the Government budget, while the other eight will be built under public-private partnerships.

The total cost for the 11 projects is estimated at VNĐ118 trillion ($5 billion), of which the Government will spend VNĐ55 trillion ($2.4 billion) on three public investment projects and site clearance for other projects.

The three sections that will be entirely funded by the State budget are Cao Bồ-Mai Sơn (15km), Cam Lộ-La Sơn (98km) and Mỹ Thuận 2 Bridge, which will cost a total of VNĐ14.279 trillion ($614 million).

The sections to be carried out by private investors are Mai Sơn-National Highway 45, National Highway 45-Nghi Sơn, Nghi Sơn-Diễn Châu, Diễn Châu-Bãi Vọt, Nha Trang-Cam Lâm, Cam Lâm-Vĩnh Hảo, Vĩnh Hảo-Phan Thiết and Phan Thiết-Dầu Giây. — VNS