Bridge worth nearly 350 billion VND opens in Can Gio island district

Vam Sat 2 Bridge connecting Ly Nhon commune with Can Gio center, with an investment capital of 343 billion VND, has been completed, contributing to the completion of the transportation system in the only island district of Ho Chi Minh City.

On the morning of September 15, the project was opened to traffic by the Ho Chi Minh City Traffic Construction Investment Project Management Board (TCIP - the investor) after 7 years of implementation. Vam Sat 2 Bridge is parallel to the old bridge, starting at Ly Nhon Street, ending at the Ly Nhon - Soai Rap junction. The project has a total length of more than one kilometer, of which the bridge is 434 meters long and 10 meters wide.

Vam Sat 2 Bridge (above) before opening to traffic, August 2023. Photo: Tuan Viet — Vam Sat 2 Bridge (above) before opening to traffic, August 2023. Photo: *Tuan Viet*

Construction began in March 2018 and Vam Sat 2 Bridge was expected to be completed in one year to replace the old bridge which was overloaded, degraded, and unsafe. However, the project had to stop at the end of 2019 due to site clearance problems. After nearly three years, in October 2022, Can Gio district completed compensation and handed over the entire bridge construction area to help speed up construction.

Mr. Nguyen Vinh Ninh, Deputy Director of TCIP, said that the completion of Vam Sat 2 Bridge will contribute to increasing traffic connectivity from Ly Nhon commune via Rung Sac road to the center of Can Gio district as well as the inner city of Ho Chi Minh City. At the same time, the project will help people easily travel, trade goods, and develop tourism when it is convenient to reach Can Gio - Can Giuoc ferry through Long An province.

About 50 km from the center of Ho Chi Minh City, Can Gio is the only district of the city bordering the sea. This locality has a total area of over 71,300 hectares, of which over 70% are mangrove forests and rivers. This place has many traditional craft villages and unique cultural festivals, favorable for the development of agricultural eco-tourism, cultural and religious tourism.

However, the transport infrastructure in the area is very limited, especially in and out of the inner city when the only main route is Binh Khanh ferry, which is often overloaded. It is expected that in April 2025, Ho Chi Minh City will start construction of Can Gio bridge connecting to Nha Be, with a total investment of more than 10,000 billion VND, breaking the monopoly at the existing ferry terminal, increasing traffic connections to the central area.

In addition to Vam Sat 2 Bridge, Ho Chi Minh City has recently put into operation Long Kieng Bridge, with a total capital of nearly 600 billion VND after 23 years of approval and 5 years of construction. A series of other projects that have been delayed due to land acquisition issues are also being re-implemented, such as Nam Ly Bridge, Tang Long Bridge, expansion of Luong Dinh Cua Street (Thu Duc City); Ba Hom Bridge, expansion of roads such as Tan Ky Tan Quy (Binh Tan District)...

"These are all extremely important projects, helping to open up gateways in the city, so the unit is speeding up progress to complete them soon," said the TCIP leader.

Gia Minh

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