The longest cross-sea bridge in Vietnam opened to traffic on Saturday, connecting downtown Hai Phong City in the northern region with its island district of Cat Hai.

The bridge is part of a major roadway project to upgrade transport infrastructure linked to the city’s Lach Huyen seaport on Cat Hai, poised to become the northern region’s first international transshipment port.

The road runs a full length of 15.63 kilometers between the Lach Huyen seaport and the Tan Vu intersection on Hanoi – Hai Phong Expressway, including a cross-sea bridge measuring 5.443km, the longest of its kind in the country.

The bridge was developed by a joint venture of Vietnamese and Japanese construction companies, using the span-by-span and balanced cantilever method of erecting precast segmental bridges.

The entire roadway project boasts a total development capital of nearly VND11.85 trillion (US$522 million), including almost $455 million of official development assistance (ODA) from Japan.

It is also among the major projects overseen by the Vietnamese Ministry of Transport this year in commemoration of the 45^th anniversary of cooperation between the governments of Vietnam and Japan.

Upon its completion, the road will join the Hanoi – Hai Phong Expressway at the under-construction Tan Vu intersection, playing a major role in developing Hai Phong’s coastal economy and attracting investors to the northern city.

Attending the bridge’s opening on Saturday, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc stressed the strategic significance of the project in linking key economic zones of the northern region.

The premier also expressed his gratitude toward the Japanese government for having provided full technical and financial support over the course of the project.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (13th left) and senior officials perform a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the bridge to traffic, September 2, 2017. Photo: Tuoi Tre

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