FRENCH TO FINANCE TAN THUAN BRIDGE UPGRADE

A French-backed project to widen the Tan Thuan bridge in Ho Chi Minh City due to the worsening traffic congestion would likely be approved, officials at the Ministry of Planning and Investment revealed last week.
The bridge improvement project will require VND 35.5 billion (US$2.5 million), with more than $2 million of the costs being supplied by French official development assistance (ODA), according to documents submitted to the ministry.
Unofficial sources said the investment had been approved by the relevant agencies and all that remained were a few procedures.
The French –ODA funding meant French technology would be used, similar to that for Saigon Bridge upgrade undertaken by Freyssinet of France.
The 447-meter bridge will be widened by almost ten meters to accommodate two lanes for trucks and cars, two lanes for motorcycles & cyclists and two sidewalks for pedestrians.
Work is expected to last 12 months.
The Tan Thuan Bridge is the only link between Nguyen Tat Thanh Street in District 4 to Inter-provincial Road 15 in District 7 and is one of the city’s most bottlenecks due to its inadequate width.
It has suffered from mounting congestion due to the fast development of District 7, Nha Be District, Saigon South, Tan Thuan EPZ and a number of ports like Tan Thuan & Ben Nghe.

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