Attending the groundbreaking ceremony were Mr. Nguyen Hoa Binh - Member of the Politburo, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister of the Government; leaders of the Provincial Party Committee, People's Committee of Ben Tre province and leaders of the People's Committees of Tien Giang and Tra Vinh provinces.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Chairman of Ben Tre Provincial People's Committee Tran Ngoc Tam said that the construction of Ba Lai 8 Bridge and the coastal road project in the West is of special importance to the development of Ben Tre province in particular and the provinces in the region in general. Creating inter-regional traffic connections, a vital coastal traffic axis, connecting Ben Tre with neighboring provinces and the key economic region in the South, connecting traffic from Ho Chi Minh City - Long An - Tien Giang - Ben Tre - Tra Vinh - Soc Trang - Bac Lieu; contributing to promoting socio-economic development, ensuring national defense and security, improving the lives of people in the southwestern provinces in general and the eastern coastal provinces, the Mekong Delta in particular, including Ben Tre province.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh welcomed Ben Tre province for taking the lead in implementing and constructing the first coastal road in the West. This is a meaningful project not only for Ben Tre but also for the entire Mekong Delta region, which will create a breakthrough for Ben Tre and the entire Mekong Delta region, awakening a sleepy, barren land into a potential, vibrant economic area in the future.
Permanent Deputy Prime Minister of the Government emphasized that this is the road connecting Ben Tre with the coastal provinces of the Mekong Delta, breaking the isolation, helping the infrastructure to connect synchronously with the highways; shortening the travel distance to Ho Chi Minh City by a few dozen kilometers, reducing the load on National Highway 1, thereby significantly reducing logistics costs. With this road, Ben Tre can reclaim the sea with an area of up to 50,000 hectares. For neighboring provinces such as Tien Giang and Tra Vinh, the project also brings similar opportunities. From there, it opens up opportunities for strong socio-economic development, improving the material and spiritual life of the people. Therefore, the project is also the desire and expectation of the people in the region.
Permanent Deputy Prime Minister of the Government directed the central ministries and branches to continue to accompany and support Ben Tre, Tien Giang and Tra Vinh provinces, promptly remove difficulties to complete the project safely and ensure quality. Particularly for Ben Tre province, the Deputy Prime Minister requested to resolutely complete the site clearance work as soon as possible to create favorable conditions for project construction. Regularly inspect, supervise, and promptly resolve difficulties in accordance with the spirit of the Prime Minister's direction: "Only work, no retreat".
"The Prime Minister emphasized that the land acquisition and clearance work will be related to the interests of the people, therefore, the work of caring for the lives of the affected people must be given attention and placed first, and the interests of the people must be properly resolved. Absolutely do not allow any negative things to happen when implementing the project, especially related to the issue of compensation and site clearance" - Permanent Deputy Prime Minister of the Government said.
The Ba Lai 8 Bridge Project, spanning the Ba Lai River, is 527.6 meters long, with a main span of balanced cantilever prestressed reinforced concrete, a design load of HL.93; a bridge width of 22.5 meters, with a road surface of 4 car lanes and 2 mixed lanes. In addition, the access road to the bridge is 12.37 kilometers long; the design speed is 80 kilometers per hour; the road surface includes 4 car lanes and 2 mixed lanes, and the roadbed is 22.5 meters wide.
The works on the route include: 4 simple-span reinforced concrete bridges, 2 traffic intersections with Provincial Road 886 and National Highway 57B, cross-road drainage culverts and roads connecting to existing traffic routes. The total investment of the Ba Lai 8 Bridge project is 2,255 billion VND.
