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

distributary A distributary, or a distributary channel is a stream channel that branches off and flows a main stream channel. It is the opposite of a ''tributary'', a stream that flows another stream or river. Distributaries are a result of river bifurc ...

of the

Mekong River The Mekong or Mekong River ( , ) is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth-longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third-longest in Asia with an estimated l ...

, in the city of

Long Xuyên Long Xuyên (), formally named Thủ Đông 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 i ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

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 A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which wire rope, cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or wikt:stay#Etymology 3, stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, norm ...

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 Cần Thơ Bridge (), is a cable-stayed bridge over the Hậu ( Bassac) River, the largest distributary of the Mekong River, in the city of Cần Thơ in southern Vietnam. The bridge is 2.75 kilometres long (1.68 miles). It has a 6-lane carriagewa ...

in 2010 helped to connect the city of

Cần Thơ Cần Thơ () is the List of cities in Vietnam, fourth-largest city in Vietnam, and the largest city along the Mekong Delta region in Vietnam. It is noted for its floating markets, rice paper-making village, and picturesque rural canals. It has ...

with

Vĩnh Long province Vĩnh Long () is a province located in the Mekong Delta of southwestern Vietnam. Its capital is Vĩnh Long. Its population is 1,046,390 and its area is . Vĩnh Long (spelled 永隆 in the former Hán-Nôm writing system) is a Sino-Vietnamese na ...

, allowing for further economic development in the

Mekong Delta The Mekong Delta ( or simply ), also known as the Western Region () or South-western region (), is the list of regions of Vietnam, region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong, Mekong River River delta, approaches and empties into the sea th ...

. 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 GS Group is one of the largest South Korean conglomerates. GS comprises GS Holdings, subsidiaries & affiliates including GS Caltex, GS Retail, GS Shop, GS EPS, GS Global, GS Sports and GS E&C among others. The asset size is 65.4 trillion KRW ...

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, ) was established in 1991 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea as a governmental organization for Official Development Assistance (ODA). KOICA's goal is to enhance the effectivene ...

and the

Vietnamese government The Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (; less formally the Vietnamese Government or the Government of Vietnam, ) is the cabinet and the central executive arm of the state administration of Vietnam. The members of the Governmen ...

. 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 to promote social and economic development in Asia. The bank is headquartered in Metro Manila, Philippines and maintains 31 field offices around the world. The bank was establishe ...

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