Addressing the ceremony, VEC Deputy Director General Pham Hong Quang said the bridge is a key component of the Ben Luc-Long Thanh Expressway project.
The bridge building contract, worth a total of VND2.84 trillion (US$132.9 million) is being jointly implemented by the VEC and a consortium made up of Japanese contractor Sumitomo Mitsui Construction and local partner Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (Cienco 4).
The Phuoc Khanh Cable Stayed Bridge will be 21.75m wide and 3.2 km long, connecting Can Gio district in Ho Chi Minh City and Nhon Trach District in Dong Nai province.
The Ben Luc-Long Thanh Expressway project has a total length of 57.1km running through Long An province, Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai province.
With four lanes, the road is designed for vehicles to run at a maximum speed of 100 kph.
The expressway includes a total of 20 km of bridges, including the Phuoc Khanh bridge and the nearly 3km-long Binh Khanh bridge spanning Soai Rap River.
The first phase of the expressway project will require roughly US$1.6 billion, of which US$636 million is funded by the Asian Development Bank and US$635 million comes from the Japanese Government via the Japanese International Co-operation Agency (JICA).
Upon its completion, the work will help promote socio-economic development in the southern key economic zone, especially the southeastern region.
It is also expected to draw investment and boost the development of tourism in Ho Chi Minh City, Long An and Dong Nai provinces.
