The Vàm Cống Bridge ( vi, Cầu Vàm Cống) is a road bridge over the Hậu Giang River (also known as Bassac), a

distributary A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. Distributaries are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributar ...

of the Mekong River, in the city of

Long Xuyên Long Xuyên () is the capital city of An Giang province, in the Mekong Delta region of south-western Vietnam. History In 1789, a group of explorers established a small outpost in the Tam Khe canal, naming it Dong Xuyen. Sooner after a marketpl ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

Description

It is one of two large bridges on the and part of the larger

North–South Expressway West The North–South Expressway West (Vietnamese: ''Đường cao tốc Bắc – Nam phía Tây'') is a partially completed expressway in Vietnam that will form an inland parallel route to the North–South expressway. It will run from Đoan Hùn ...

effort. At long, it is the second-longest cable-stayed bridge in Vietnam.

Planning

Before 2010, traffic across the Bassac river's banks were dependent on travel by wharf and ferry. The opening of the Cần Thơ Bridge in 2010 helped to connect the city of Cần Thơ with Vĩnh Long province, allowing for further economic development in the

Mekong Delta The Mekong Delta ( vi, Đồng bằng Sông Cửu Long, lit=Nine Dragon River Delta or simply vi, Đồng Bằng Sông Mê Kông, lit=Mekong River Delta, label=none), also known as the Western Region ( vi, Miền Tây, links=no) or South-weste ...

. However, other high traffic areas of the Mekong River remained dependent on wharfs and ferries, including the Vàm Cống ferry that had been in operation since 1925. In 2011, national transportation agencies in Vietnam proposed a transportation plan for the Mekong River Delta region, part of which included the construction of the Vàm Cống bridge to help integrate the greater highway system.

Construction

On September 10, 2013, a groundbreaking ceremony took place in Đồng Tháp province. The project's consulting team included Dasan Consultants, Kunhwa Consulting and Engineering, and Pyunghwa Engineering Consultants, with the main construction contractors consisting of a joint venture between GS Engineering & Construction and Hanshin Engineering & Construction. Cienco 1 would serve as a subcontractor. The initial investment of 5.7 trillion VND is shared between the

Korea International Cooperation Agency The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA, Korean: 한국국제협력단, Hanja: 韓國國際協力團) was established in 1991 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea as a governmental organization for Official Development ...

and the Vietnamese government. During construction, there was conflict around the management of the project, resulting in delays.

Opening

All six lanes of the bridges were open to the public in May 2019. The project took five years to complete and is reported to have cost 5.7 trillion VND (approximately 240 billion KRW, US$202 million). The

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field office ...

is working on an infrastructure project which will construct an additional approach road to the bridge.

References

{{Cable-stayed bridges in Southeast Asia Road bridges in Vietnam Cable-stayed bridges in Vietnam Bridges completed in 2019 Bassac River Buildings and structures in Cần Thơ South Korea–Vietnam relations