The Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) People's Committee on Sept 17 announced a construction plan for the Thu Thiem 4 bridge project, which spans the Saigon river and links District 2 with District 7 in the Southern city.
With an estimated investment of VND5.2 trillion ($226 million), the bridge is expected to facilitate the development of Thu Thiem new urban area.
Under the design plan, Thu Thiem 4 bridge is about 2.2 kilometres long and 28 metres wide, with 6 lanes and 2 pavements for walking. The speed limit on the bridge is 60 kilometres per hour. Construction of the bridge will be implemented by local firms, under a Build-and-Transfer contract.
The new bridge will connect Thu Thiem new urban area and South Saigon new urban area. HCMC authority believes that it will help ease traffic congestion from the city's Southern area to the downtown districts, as well as accelerate the development of Thu Thiem new urban area.
Under the plans approved by the city authority, there will be five bridges and one tunnel connecting the new urban area in District 2 with different parts of the city. In particular, the Thu Thiem 1 bridge and Saigon river tunnel connecting District 2 and District 1 have already been put into use. Meanwhile, the Thu Thiem 2 bridge, which was kicked off in early 2015 with total investment of around VND3.1 trillion, has been under construction so far.
