In the afternoon of February 14, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a meeting with ministries, central agencies and Phu Tho province on the situation of overcoming damage to the Lo River bridge project.
According to Phu Tho Provincial People's Committee, the Lo River bridge and dyke hardening project on the left bank of the Lo River was approved by Phu Tho Provincial People's Committee on April 21, 2008, with a total investment of 320 billion VND, of which the bridge project is 231 billion VND.
The project is being implemented in Doan Hung district (now Doan Hung commune), Phu Tho province; inspected and put into operation from November 11, 2015 and inspected for completion of construction warranty from January 10, 2018.
According to the survey and overall inspection results of the consulting unit for the bridge girder and pier structure, no abnormalities were detected. However, the test results of drilled concrete core for some pier bases and drilled piles did not meet the design requirements.
The foundation structure of piers T3, T4, T5, T6 currently does not have sufficient load-bearing capacity according to standard 22TCN 272-05. The damage of drilled piles as mentioned is not meeting technical requirements, posing a potential risk of unsafe exploitation.
Phu Tho Provincial Police have issued a decision to prosecute a criminal case of Violating construction regulations causing serious consequences at the Song Lo bridge construction site, in the period from 2010 to 2015, according to Clause 3, Article 298 of the Penal Code.
Phu Tho Provincial People's Committee has directed to adjust the plan to organize traffic diversion and organization of traffic through Lo River bridge in accordance with practical conditions; and at the same time proposed 2 plans including: Plan to repair and overcome damage and plan to invest in building a new Lo River Bridge.
Concluding the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh welcomed the ministries, branches, agencies and Phu Tho province for reacting to the Lo River bridge incident.
The Prime Minister directed that there must be a plan to meet the travel needs of people, ensure safety, serve socio-economic development, open up new development space and ensure national defense and security, especially in the context of merging the previous 3 provinces of Phu Tho, Hoa Binh and Vinh Phuc into a new Phu Tho province and development needs in the new era.
Accordingly, the Prime Minister requested that in February 2026, the investigation conclusion on the damage to the Lo River bridge must be completed for handling according to the Party's regulations and the State's laws.
Whether to repair and continue using the old bridge or not depends on evaluation, consulting, and professional supervision. At the same time, it is necessary to invest in building a new Lo River bridge; in the immediate future, it is necessary to study and survey, install pontoon bridges to serve people's travel during this time if necessary.
The Prime Minister requested to study investment in the construction of a new Lo River bridge in accordance with the plan, with a scale equivalent to the new Phong Chau bridge; the design of the new Lo River bridge must learn from the old bridge, in the direction of being higher, wider, longer, more beautiful, more efficient, and more economical; it is necessary to conduct more thorough surveys to respond to extreme climate change.
The head of the Government emphasized: The implementation will not be long-lasting, completed in 1 year (before March 1, 2027), striving to have a new bridge for people to travel by the Lunar New Year 2027. Phu Tho province is the investor of the new Lo River bridge project; military units participate and support Phu Tho province in implementing the project.
Regarding funding, Phu Tho province is responsible for quick site clearance to serve the project and access roads at both ends of the bridge; the Central Government supports Phu Tho province with bridge construction and installation funds from the contingency fund of 2025 transferred to; absolutely not to let negativity, corruption, and waste occur.
