Rach Tom Bridge is one of 22 land acquisition projects for socio-economic development, approved by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council on the morning of December 11.
The Rach Tom Bridge project was approved in principle by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council in 2018 to replace the current degraded iron bridge.
In 2019, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport approved the project with a total investment of nearly VND497 billion. The project includes a bridge 171 m long, 15 m wide, and an approach road over 512 m long and 29 m wide.
Although approved many years ago, the project is behind schedule due to insufficient medium-term capital allocation for the 2021-2025 period. Notably, in 2022 and 2023, the project did not receive any capital, while previously it was only allocated 1 billion VND in the medium-term period.
Currently, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport has proposed allocating VND260 billion for the 2024-2025 period to carry out site clearance to serve the project's commencement.
Mr. Luong Minh Phuc - Director of the Management Board of Investment and Construction of Traffic Works in Ho Chi Minh City, said that Rach Tom Bridge is expected to start construction in April 2025 and be completed in 2026.
In addition to Rach Tom Bridge and Le Van Luong Street, there is another important project, Rach Doi Bridge (connecting Nha Be District, Ho Chi Minh City with Can Giuoc District, Long An). This project was approved in principle in 2016, but has not been implemented because Ho Chi Minh City has not been able to balance its funding sources.
Recently, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport has proposed that the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee allocate about 781 billion VND to build Rach Doi Bridge in the period of 2024 - 2028.
The bridge is about 452 m long and 15 m wide (the approach road is about 300 m). Of the total investment for the project through Ho Chi Minh City, the cost of site clearance is about 265 billion VND. The section through Long An province alone will cost about 85 billion VND, which will be implemented by this locality.
Previously, two new bridges, Long Kieng and Rach Dia, on Le Van Luong Street were built and put into operation in 2023 and 2024. These projects significantly improve traffic infrastructure, reduce congestion and increase connectivity in the southern area of Ho Chi Minh City.
