A groundbreaking ceremony kicks off construction of the Mỹ Thuận 2 Bridge in April last year. — VNA/VNS Photo Phạm Minh Tuấn

HCM CITY — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính has ordered localities in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta to speed up site clearance to ensure the progress of the Mỹ Thuận 2 bridge and the Mỹ Thuận-Cần Thơ expressway.

Speaking at a meeting held last week in the region, PM Chính urged Vĩnh Long and Đồng Tháp provinces to build resettlement areas for the affected households.

According to Project Management Board No 7, site clearance for the Mỹ Thuận 2 Bridge remains a problem due to disagreement about the compensation rate in Tiền Giang Province (10 households) and Vĩnh Long Province (one household).

The board said it would work with the provinces to speed up site clearance in the second quarter so that construction can be completed by 2023. 

The cable-stayed bridge will connect the Trung Lương - Mỹ Thuận and Mỹ Thuận-Cần Thơ expressways between HCM City and Cần Thơ.

Construction of an approach road for the Mỹ Thuận 2 Bridge project started in Tiền Giang Province on February 27.

With an investment of more than VNĐ5 trillion (US$215 million), the project includes VNĐ3.4 trillion ($145 million) for construction and equipment costs.

The bridge will extend from An Thái Trung intersection on the Trung Lương-Mỹ Thuận Expressway in Tiền Giang Province’s Cái Bè District and end at the intersection with National Highway 80 in Vĩnh Long City, the starting point of Mỹ Thuận - Cần Thơ Expressway.

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

The main bridge and approach roads will have a total length of 6.61 kilometres.

With a length of 1.9 kilometres, the main bridge will have six lanes and a speed limit of 80 kilometres per hour.

The approach road in Tiền Giang Province will be 4.3 kilometres long, while the approach road in Vĩnh Long Province will be 0.4 kilometres.

Mỹ Thuận-Cần Thơ expressway 

Prime Minister Chính has also ordered localities in the region to ensure the progress of the Mỹ Thuận-Cần Thơ expressway and supply of construction materials for the project.

Trần Văn Thi, general director of the Mỹ Thuận Project Management Board, said the expressway lacked about 2 million cubic metres of sand and soil for construction.

Đinh Công Minh, deputy director of the Project Management Board 7, said that construction of an approach road for the Mỹ Thuận 2 bridge in Tiền Giang has reached more than 50 per cent of the workload, while the road to the bridge on the bank of Tiền Giang Province has reached 28.9 per cent, and the road leading to the bridge in Vĩnh Long Province 34.4 per cent.

The project will reduce overloading on National Highway No 1 and push up economic development while securing national defence and security for the Mekong Delta provinces.

The completion of the project together with the HCM City-Trung Lương and Trung Lương-Mỹ Thuận expressways and the Mỹ Thuận 2 bridge will create a key transport line from HCM City to Cần Thơ City. 

It will shorten travel time between the two cities to two hours instead of the current three to four hours.

The expressway is part of the Eastern section of the North-South Expressway project. It has a total investment of nearly VNĐ4.9 billion ($211 million) and is expected to be completed in 2022.

The Government has approved shifting from the build-operate-transfer (BOT) investment mode to public investment.

The 23km expressway will pass through Vĩnh Long and Đồng Tháp provinces. It starts from the Mỹ Thuận Bridge 2 in Vĩnh Long City’s Tân Hòa Ward and ends at Chà Và intersection, connecting to National Highway No.1 in Bình Minh Town’s Thuận An Commune. — VNS