Japan-funded Bridge in Vietnam to Open to Traffic in December

Nhat Tan Bridge in Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi, which uses the funding of the Japanese government, is expected to open to traffic later this year, said Nguyen Thanh Van, general director of the Project Management Unit No. 85. To date, 96.4% of workload has been done, Mr. Van noted, adding that the bridge will get technical opening in October. The project has a total investment of VND13.6 trillion ($645 million) with the majority sourced from Japanese official development assistance (ODA) and the rest by the Vietnamese government. The bridge is designed to be 8.95 kilometer long and have a maximum speed of 80 km/hour. Once operational, it will be Vietnam’s longest and the most modern suspension bridge and the 6th spanning over the Red River besides Long Bien, Thang Long, Chuong Duong, Vinh Tuy and Thanh Tri bridges. The four-lane bridge is expected to help shorten travel distance from the heart of Hanoi to the Noi Bai International Airport. (http://vov.vn Jul 8)