PM allows Dong Nai to head the implementation of Cat Lai Bridge

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has accepted Dong Nai Province's proposal to be the State authority to implement the US$310 million Cat Lai Bridge project, which will link HCM City's District 2 with Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces.

 

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has accepted Dong Nai Province’s proposal to be the State authority to implement the US$310 million Cat Lai Bridge project, which will link HCM City’s District 2 with Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces.

Cat Lai ferry connects HCM City's District 2 and Dong Nai Province's Nhon Trach District. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoang Hai

The bridge is supposed to replace the Cat Lai ferry, which has proved incapable of handling traffic volume at nearly double its capacity, resulting in frequent traffic jams on both sides of the ferry.

The HCM City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay highway – which connects HCM City with Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau – is not open to motorbikes, meaning commuting between these areas depends heavily on the ferry.

The $16 billion Long Thanh international airport project, which is to begin in Dong Nai next year and be completed in 2025, will further strain the situation.

The Cat Lai Bridge is also expected to give a significant boost to transport between Ba Ria-Vung Tau and other localities in the south-western region, while easing jams in HCM City's eastern entry and exit point.

The Government said Dong Nai Province People’s Committee must co-ordinate with HCM City People’s Committee to reach an agreement on the plan to carry out the project’s components and financing models.

Construction on the bridge is slated to begin in 2020.

In previous proposals, Dong Nai said given the large investment scale, applying the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model to the whole project would not be feasible, and the province has asked for dividing the project into three components.

Accordingly, the 623m road in HCM City leading up to the bridge will be handled by HCM City while the 263m road leading to the bridge will be done by Dong Nai, both under the Build-Transfer (BT) model, in which the province’s land lots will be exchanged for investors’ building the infrastructure.

The main bridge will be implemented by Dong Nai Province under BOT model. If the BOT model proves unworkable in future assessments of the project, the province said it would adopt both BOT and BT models. 

(Source:VNS)