On February 19 (ie, the 3rd day of Tet), Lao Dong Newspaper reporters' records at Provincial Road 156 showed that after a short holiday, dozens of workers and many mechanical equipment simultaneously launched the construction of foundations, bridge piers and transportation of materials to serve the construction of the border bridge across the Red River.
In the spring season, still lingering the atmosphere of reunion, the bridge construction site on the Lao Cai border was bustling with machine sounds and calls for each other to work. The construction teams were organized neatly, taking advantage of favorable weather to compensate for the progress of the Tet holidays.
The project to invest in building a border bridge across the Red River in Ban Vuoc commune and connecting infrastructure system is implemented in the 2021–2025 period, including three components.
Component 1 is to build a border bridge across the Red River; upgrade Provincial Road 156 (Kim Thanh - Ngoi Phat) section 3km long; renovate the Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway intersection (IC18).
Component 2 upgrades 8km of Provincial Road 156 from Quang Kim bridge to intersections BV32, BV28, and at the same time level the ground on both sides of the route.
Component 3 is upgrading and renovating IC19 intersection. The total investment of the entire project is 1,490 billion VND, of which the central budget supports 950 billion VND, and the local budget counterparts 540 billion VND.
The border bridge project across the Red River connecting old Bat Xat district (Vietnam) with Ba Sai (China) has a total capital of about 282 billion VND, constructed by the consortium of Trung Chinh Construction and Trading Co., Ltd. and Inland Waterway Management and Maintenance Joint Stock Company for 18 months.
The bridge is built in the Ban Vuoc border gate area, about 700m downstream of the Red River from milestone 97.
The project has a scale of low-tower cable-stayed bridge (Extradosed), prestressed reinforced concrete girders, tower pillars 20m high from the bridge deck. The bridge deck is 35.3m wide; the Vietnamese side builds half of the main bridge, 115m long, the approach bridge and the bridgehead road are more than 270m long.
A representative of the contractor said that the unit is mobilizing maximum machinery and manpower, organizing construction during the holidays to ensure the overall progress of the project.
On February 18, in an exchange with a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Pham Minh Hai - Deputy Director of the Lao Cai Provincial Traffic Construction Investment Project Management Board said that the main bridge over the Red River is a low-tower cable-stayed bridge with a Chinese span diagram of 60m + 110m + 60m; the approach bridge part is 40m long on each side, and the bridge width is 35.3m.
Regarding progress, the Chinese side is constructing abutments M1, piers T6, T7 and 115m long cantilever cast beams along with access roads. The Vietnamese side is constructing abutments M2, piers T8, T9, 115m long cantilever cast beams, approach beams and access roads to the bridge about 200m long.
According to Mr. Hai, the project was started by the two countries on March 31, 2025, and is expected to be completed on December 31, 2026. To date, the contractor has completed the M2 abutment and pier T9; pier T8 is installing molds, K0 block steel reinforcement and constructing beams. The realized value is about 85 billion VND, equivalent to 30%.
According to the plan, the project will close the main span by the end of September 2026 and be completed and put into operation by the end of 2026.
When completed, the border bridge across the Red River is expected to open up more directions for trade connection, creating motivation for socio-economic development for the Ban Vuoc border gate area and Lao Cai province in the coming years.
