According to the Department of Transport of Ho Chi Minh City, there have been 5 options for clearance (distance from the highest water surface to the bridge's underside) studied for Thu Thiem 4 Bridge.
Of these, the two options for building Thu Thiem 4 Bridge have fixed clearances of 10m and 15m, with investment costs of approximately VND4,365 billion and VND4,840 billion, respectively. These two options are in line with the planning, but the height does not meet the needs of large ships entering and leaving Nha Rong - Khanh Hoi port.
The other two options are the Thu Thiem 4 cable-stayed bridge with a fixed clearance of 45m or a tunnel under the Saigon River, with total investment of more than VND8,000 billion and nearly VND9,000 billion respectively. In addition to the large cost and difficulty in recovering capital for investors, these two options are difficult to implement due to the impact on planning in the Thu Thiem New Urban Area as well as District 7.
The remaining option is that Thu Thiem 4 Bridge has a normal operating clearance of 15m, but the main span can be raised to 45m, through two towers and a lifting system. However, operating the bridge lifting system will incur maintenance costs and may affect road traffic.
This project has a total capital of more than 6,000 billion VND and was proposed by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport to help large ships easily cross the Saigon River.
In August 2024, in a document sent to the Ministry of Transport, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee said it would choose the option of building Thu Thiem 4 bridge with a fixed clearance of 15m, because it believes this option is suitable for the operation of restaurant boats on the Saigon River.
These ships are under 12m in height and serve culinary tourism on the river, so 15m of clearance is enough for the ships to pass. At the same time, the Nha Rong - Khanh Hoi port area has planned 2 locations for inland passenger ports.
As for the downstream of Thu Thiem 4 bridge, in the adjustment of the general planning of Ho Chi Minh City to 2040 and vision to 2060, it is determined that there will be international passenger terminals at Mui Den Do (District 7) and Ben Nghe (District 7), capable of receiving large international passenger ships of up to 60,000 GT and 30,000 GT.
However, an unexpected factor appeared when Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Phan Van Mai directed to re-study the planning of Nha Rong - Khanh Hoi port location into "International Passenger Port".
The Department of Planning and Architecture of Ho Chi Minh City has been assigned to research and update this plan into the project to adjust the city's general planning.
This makes the construction of Thu Thiem 4 bridge with a fixed clearance of 15m inappropriate, because large passenger ships will have difficulty passing through the bridge to dock at Nha Rong - Khanh Hoi port.
The Department of Transport of Ho Chi Minh City has proposed that the Department of Planning and Architecture urgently study and update the planning of the international passenger port at Nha Rong - Khanh Hoi port into the general planning adjustment dossier of Ho Chi Minh City, to serve as a basis for determining the clearance of Thu Thiem 4 bridge.
Thu Thiem 4 Bridge is expected to have a total length of 2.16km, of which the main bridge is more than 1.6km long, with 6 lanes. The bridge starts from the intersection of Tan Thuan 2 Bridge - Nguyen Van Linh (District 7), connecting with Thu Thiem New Urban Area at the intersection of the North-South axis and Bui Thien Ngo Street.
Ho Chi Minh City aims to start construction of Thu Thiem 4 Bridge on April 30, 2025 and complete it in 2028.
