2020 set to be year of major transport projects

My Thuan 2 Bridge

Construction of the My Thuan 2 Bridge to connect the southern provinces of Tien Giang and Vinh Long will begin this month at a cost of VND5 trillion ($215.6 million) and be completed by 2023.

An artist's impression of the My Thuan 2 Bridge connecting the southern provinces of Tien Giang and Vinh Long.

The 6.6-km bridge will be 350 meters upstream from the existing My Thuan Bridge on the Tien River.

My Thuan 2 is designed to have six lanes and allow maximum speeds of 100 km per hour.

The bridge is a key piece of infrastructure that will improve connection between Ho Chi Minh City and the southern provinces. As one of 11 sections of the North-South Expressway, the bridge will link the Trung Luong-My Thuan Expressway with the My Thuan-Can Tho Expressway, whose construction will also begin this year.

My Thuan-Can Tho Expressway

Construction of the first phase of the My Thuan-Can Tho Expressway between Vinh Long Province and Can Tho City will start in the first quarter and finish by 2023.

It will run 23 km from the My Thuan 2 Bridge to Can Tho Bridge, with its four lanes allowing speeds up to 100 km per hour. It will also be connected with the Trung Luong-My Thuan Expressway.

The Trung Luong-My Thuan Expressway is under construction. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran.

To cost VND4.92 trillion ($212.1 million), mostly from private sources, it will be built under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract for 24.5 years.

Eight North-South Expressway sections

Eight sections of the North-South Expressway to be built under public-private partnership (PPP) mode will see construction begin this year after the private investors are identified through tenders.

The four sections each in the north and south will cost over VND100 trillion ($4.31 billion), of which over 40 percent will be provided by the government in the form of land acquisition and relocation of people.

They are scheduled to be completed by 2022.

Together with the three publicly funded sections, they will create a transport backbone, easing the load on the country’s aging highways.

North-South Railway upgrades

The National Assembly last year allocated VND7 trillion ($301.8 million) to upgrade some parts of the North-South Railway that have deteriorated over the years.

Repairs and maintenance will be carried out on four sections between Hanoi to HCMC from now until 2021.