by Trinh Anh Duc
19-12-2002
Prime Minister Phan Van Khai on November 30, 2002 launched the construction of the Thanh Tri Bridge in Hanoi, the longest of its kind in Vietnam to date. The bridge will span the Red River at the Ha Noi suburb of Thanh Tri. Prime Minister Phan Van Khai emphasised a key role to be played by the project in economic development and national defence. He also expressed the thanks from the Vietnamese government and people for Japan's great assistance given to the country's national development.
"The bridge will contribute to boosting the goods circulation throughout the country during the national industrialisation and modernisation," Mr Khai said at the ground-breaking ceremony.
The government leader, therefore, asked responsible agencies to ensure the quality, the safety and the construction deadline of the project to welcome the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Dong Do-Hanoi.
Once completed in 2006, the project will bridge the northern economic triangle that links Hanoi with the port city of Haiphong and the northern province of Quang Ninh, which boasts the brisk tourist site of Ha Long Bay twice recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. It will also contribute to facilitating traffic flows along the trans-national highway as well as roads leading to all northern mountainous regions.
This fourth bridge over the Red River was designed with a main span of 3,084 metres long and 31.1 metres wide having six high-speed lanes, two runways linking to the bridge from Phap Van on the right bank of the Red River and from Sai Dong on the left bank.
The project was invested with US $410 million from Japan's government loans through the Japanese Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC) plus the Vietnamese government's own investment, making it the largest of its kind in terms of finance.