As part of the Ho Chi Minh City-Can Tho Expressway, the 51.1-kilometre Trung Luong-My Thuan section has been under construction for four years and is scheduled for completion in 2020 with a total cost of VND9.6 trillion (US$ 412.8 million).
Connecting with this section is the My Thuan-Can Tho section, which is 23.6 kilometres long and is expected to cost VND5.4 trillion (US$232.2 million).
The project is under the bidding process with investors to be selected by the end of 2019 while construction is scheduled for early 2020 and completion is expected for late 2022.
As part of the Ho Chi Minh City-Can Tho Expressway, the My Thuan 2 Bridge and its approach roads will be built at an estimated cost of VND5 trillion (US$215 million).
Construction of several packages are set to begin in late 2019 while the main cable-stayed bridge, which is more complex, will begin its construction in 2020 and be completed three years later.
Once the Trung Luong-My Thuan and My Thuan-Can Tho expressway sections are completed, the distance between Ho Chi Minh City will be reduced by 50 kilometres, saving two hours compared with travelling by National Highway 1.
The expressway is expected to provide a major boost to socio-economic development in Vietnam’s southwestern region.
The Ministry of Transport is also preparing for the construction of the Dai Ngai and Rach Mieu 2 Bridges, two major bridges in the region.
Total investment in the Dai Ngai Bridge, which lies on National Highway 60 connecting Tra Vinh and Soc Trang provinces, is estimated at more than VND8 trillion (US$344 million) and is under review by the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
The bridge is expected to cut the distances from Ca Mau, Soc Trang and Bac Lieu to Ho Chi Minh City by 80 kilometres.
In the meantime, the Rach Mieu 2 Bridge, linking Tien Giang and Ben Tre provinces, is scheduled to be constructed in 2022 at a cost of VND5.14 trillion (US$221 million).
It is located about 3.8 kilometres upstream from the Rach Mieu Bridge and expected to be completed after 40-45 months of construction.
