Land clearance roadblock delays major Saigon bridge completion

The bridge connecting District 1 with Thu Thiem New Urban Area in Thu Duc City spans 1.4 kilometers and comprises six lanes.

Construction started in 2015 at a cost of nearly VND3.1 trillion ($134.9 million), with the project originally scheduled to complete in 2018.

The project has since missed the second deadline set for last September, due to land acquisition difficulties in District 1, with the September deadline for this year pushed back yet again for similar reasons.

As of last year, work on the project was 70 percent complete but construction on certain sections in District 1 continues to face delays since some of the required land belongs to the Ministry of National Defense.

The project now requires an area of 13,000 square meters, including the homes of six families aside from land plots owned by three organizations and managed by the ministry.

Aside from the land clearance roadblock, the project has also faced issues in verifying both project volume and value with investor Dai Quang Minh Real Estate Investment JSC.

For now, related agencies and departments are in the process of negotiating with the investor, as required by the Department of Transport earlier last month.

As planned, several adjustments will be made to the original project design.

With all existing obstacles, related agencies have proposed the city to delay the project's completion to 2023.

Thu Thiem 2 Bridge, once completed, would not just help connect the city’s heart of District 1 with Thu Thiem New Urban Area but also help ease traffic congestion at the intersections of Ton Duc Thang-Nguyen Huu Canh streets and Ton Duc Thang-Le Thanh Ton streets in District 1.

Five bridges and a tunnel are planned to connect the Thu Thiem area, envisioned as an iconic urban development project in Southeast Asia, with the rest of Ho Chi Minh City. Thu Thiem 1 Bridge and the tunnel connecting Districts 1 and 2 have already opened to traffic.