"Old" center connects new urban area
The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has just approved the investment policy and received funding from domestic organizations and individuals to invest in the construction of a pedestrian bridge across the Saigon River. Previously, the city's leaders had selected the architectural design of the pedestrian bridge across the Saigon River with the image of water coconut leaves - a familiar image of the South. The bridge is located between Ba Son Bridge and the Saigon River tunnel. The District 1 side is located at Bach Dang Port Park, near Nguyen Hue Walking Street, while the Thu Duc City side is located at the riverside park and outside the boundary of Area A, south of the central square.
Pedestrian bridge project connecting District 1 to Thu Thiem New Urban Area, Thu Duc City
After 12 years of planning and ideas, Ho Chi Minh City residents are finally about to have their first pedestrian bridge across the river, connecting the "old" center (end of Nguyen Hue Street, intersection with Ton Duc Thang) to the Thu Thiem New Urban Area.
According to the approved plan, the pedestrian bridge across the Saigon River has a circulating waterfall, suitable for the design of the central square of Thu Thiem, and is evaluated by the selection council as a unique, impressive, non-overlapping, simple, and attractive plan for people and tourists when coming to Ho Chi Minh City. The City People's Committee plans to start construction of the pedestrian bridge across the Saigon River on April 30, 2025 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the country's reunification. When the bridge is completed, there will be a pedestrian space stretching from Nguyen Hue Street, Ben Bach Dang Park, across the pedestrian bridge and to the Thu Thiem New Urban Area.
April 30, 2025 is also the target that the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport is aiming for to start construction of Thu Thiem 4 bridge connecting Thu Duc City and District 7. The bridge starts from Nguyen Van Linh Street - Tan Thuan 2 Bridge Intersection, the end point is Nguyen Co Thach - Thu Thiem Street. The total length of the entire route is more than 2.1 km with a total estimated investment of about 5,000 billion VND. Currently, the "bridge head" of Nguyen Co Thach (Thu Duc City) has formed a modern and spacious urban area. Thu Thiem 4 Bridge, after completion, is expected to create a stronger development momentum for Thu Thiem, Thu Duc area in particular and Ho Chi Minh City in general.
Where the bridge connects, Thu Thiem develops there
Along with the approval of the pedestrian bridge architecture across the Saigon River, the design and renovation idea of the east bank of the Saigon River on the Thu Thiem Urban Area side has just been approved by the City People's Committee according to the proposal of the Department of Planning and Architecture. The renovated riverbank is nearly 1 km long, from Ba Son Bridge to the roof of Thu Thiem Tunnel. Opposite this place is Ben Bach Dang Park, Nguyen Hue Walking Street. According to the plan, the riverbank with many trees and grass will be cleared and trashed before implementing the renovation items. The bank is expected to be cleared with a range from the river inward 50 m. The section in front of the church to the roof of Thu Thiem Tunnel is
Perspective of Saigon riverbank in Thu Thiem direction in the future
200 m will be used to fence the construction site and plant bamboo, forming a green wall along the riverbank. Floating rafts will be installed to grow aquatic plants, with many species such as lotus, water lily, tamarind, etc. A large-sized Ferris wheel will be installed at the roof of Thu Thiem tunnel to create a highlight for the area. Nearby, in front of Thu Thiem church, large LED screens will be arranged for cheering, propaganda, and creating light at night. In addition, along the riverbank section through the roof of Thu Thiem tunnel, a pedestrian bridge with a unique design will be built to attract people and tourists to come and play.
Appreciating the synchronous approach of Ho Chi Minh City in promoting the construction of a bridge in parallel with the formation of space along the east bank of the Saigon River, Dr. Hoang Ngoc Lan (Institute of Smart Cities and Management - Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics) emphasized that the pedestrian bridge will only be truly meaningful when the east bank forms Thu Thiem Square. Because Ho Chi Minh City is lacking public space. People have almost no public space, so every weekend, holiday, and New Year, the number of people "pouring" to Nguyen Hue walking street, Bach Dang Wharf is very large. If there is a pedestrian bridge connecting to Thu Thiem, the other side of the river must also have a place to play, have public space, and increase open space. Only then can both banks of the river attract people and tourists, open up the urban area, a premise for strong socio-economic development.
According to Dr. Hoang Ngoc Lan, if the pedestrian bridge "shoulders" the task of opening up urban space and cultural space, the bridges connecting traffic and allowing vehicles to run will be the driving force to promote the development of Thu Thiem Urban Area. Typically, Shanghai City in China also has a similar context to Ho Chi Minh City with the west bank being the bustling Shanghai Port, the east bank being the current Pudong area, which was previously just a remote agricultural land like the Thu Thiem swamp nearly 20 years ago. When setting the goal of developing the East into a special economic zone, the Shanghai government also started by simultaneously building many connecting bridges and building a solid infrastructure system. Since then, in just 20 years of establishment and development, Pudong has created an explosion and become one of the most bustling and prosperous areas in the world.
"Thu Thiem has also gone through 2 decades of development, but perhaps the infrastructure is the leading factor that reduces the momentum of this potential land. Therefore, wherever the bridge connects, the east bank of the Saigon River will open up opportunities for transformation and development," Dr. Lan commented.
Telling the history of the city through the bridges
Architect Nguyen Ngoc Dung, Director of V.Arichi Company, said that bridges are an inseparable part of transportation, and all kinds of transportation cannot be separated from urban areas. In Vietnam, most cities with the advantage of being surrounded by rivers have built bridges across the river as a highlight, a symbol of the land. For example, Da Nang is famous for its themed bridge city, Hue has many heritage and art bridges, Hoi An has the famous Japanese Covered Bridge... Bridges across rivers or viaducts have entered culture and music. Looking out into the world, across the Han River in the capital of Seoul, South Korea, the Thames River in England or the Seine River in France... there are dozens of bridges. Each bridge was built at a different time, carrying the architecture of different eras, conveying a different story. Hidden behind each simple bridge is not only an architectural symbol but also a story, culture, carrying the soul of the city.
For Ho Chi Minh City, Thu Thiem has long been identified as the "heart" of the city. Geometrically, on the map, Thu Thiem is located right in the middle of the city, so this area was previously named District 2, next to District 1. With such a position and role, more than 10 years ago when starting to design the Thu Thiem bridge architecture, architect Nguyen Ngoc Dung proposed the need to plan 6 bridges connecting the two banks of the Saigon River from the city center through Thu Thiem. Because "good land attracts birds", Ho Chi Minh City in the future will attract 20 - 30 million people, requiring the expansion of urban space from the existing center to the new urban area as wide as possible.
"Each bridge built in each period, each stage, with different architecture and different forms will also tell different stories about the development process of Ho Chi Minh City. The bridge connecting the two banks of the Saigon River will recreate the image of the wharf and the boat, connecting the past, present and future, including historical, cultural and economic development factors of the city", Architect Nguyen Ngoc Dung hopes.
In Vietnam today, almost no locality has established a beautiful and systematic system of public spaces along the river. If Ho Chi Minh City could build a whole bridge system connecting the parks on the east and west banks of the Saigon River, it would become the strength of the city's river city.
Dr. Hoang Ngoc Lan , Institute of Smart Cities and Management -
University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City
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