ADB, Australia to fund bridge project

The Asian Development Bank has approved a US$26 million technical assistance grant financed by the Government of Australia to support the Central Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta Region Connectivity Project.
The project will prepare detailed designs and implementation support for the construction of two large cable-stayed bridges and a 25km road connecting the structures.
Each bridge is 2km long, with a six-lane roadway 40 metres above the Mekong River.
The assistance is part of the Australian Government’s commitment to provide a AUD160 million ($171 million) grant for the project, as announced by Australia’s Prime Minister during her official visit to Viet Nam in October 2010.
The grant will help finance the engineering, design and construction supervision of the project, as well as provide a major contribution to the cost of building Cao Lanh Bridge across the Mekong River in Dong Thap Province.
The construction of the other bridge, Vam Cong Bridge, is supported by the Government of the Republic of Korea through a $200 million loan agreement signed with the Vietnamese Government.
It is a significant co-financing effort on the part of the official development partners to Viet Nam for this flagship project that is estimated to cost $750 million.
“œWhile the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta has an extensive inland waterway network that operates effectively and is best suited for bulk agricultural products, the current road transport network is constrained by poor connections, narrow pavements, and frequent waterway crossings,” said James Lynch, director of ADB’s Transport and Communication Division, Southeast Asia Department.
“The absence of a reliable road network in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta is a significant constraint to attracting higher-value agricultural and industrial investments that would lead to an increase in economic activity.”
Once constructed, the bridges and road will benefit about 170,000 users per day and 5 million residents of An Giang and Dong Thap provinces and Can Tho City.
The bridges and road will also improve transport services across and within the Central Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta region by connecting HCM City with the southwestern region of the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, according to an ADB press release.
This grant will finance consulting services to prepare detailed engineering designs and bidding documents for Cao Lanh Bridge and the road that connects the two bridges.
A consulting firm will also assist the Vietnamese Government with procurement of work and supervise construction, ensure the project’s adherence to ADB’s Safeguard Policy Statement, and help implement its social action plan, according to Rustam Ishenaliev, ADB’s Transport Specialist.
The Ministry of Transport is the executing agency for the technical assistance grant.
It is expected that the engineering designs and bidding process will be completed in 2012 and construction will start in 2013. The bridges and connecting road are scheduled to become operational in 2017. — VNS

Tags: Vietnam Infrastructure

Posted by VBN on Jun 7 2011. Filed under Infrastructure. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry