The long-awaited Vam Cong Bridge in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta was officially put into operation on Sunday morning.
This is the second bridge that crosses the Hau (Back) River, connecting Lap Vo District in Dong Thap Province and Thot Not District in Can Tho City.
The other structure, Can Tho Bridge, links the namesake city with Vinh Long Province.
Following the inauguration chaired by Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The, thousands of local residents lined up to make their first trip across the bridge.
“I arrived here on my bicycle early in the morning and waited until the bridge is officially open. I have been looking forward to this moment,” said Don, a 66-year-old resident from Dong Thap.
Meanwhile, Ngo Thi Thuan, 65, who lives in Can Tho, said she had walked on the bridge at 5:00 am to watch the colors of the sunrise.
“Today is a very special day,” Thuan stated.
According to Minister The, the Vam Cong Bridge is the dream of many people in the Mekong Delta.
Residents previously had to pay a fee and spend 30 minutes on a ferry to cross the river, the official said, adding it now takes them only three to five minutes to travel across the bridge.
The structure plays an essential role as it helps boost connectivity throughout the Mekong Delta, Vo Thanh Thong, chairman of the Can Tho People’s Committee, said, adding that the bridge will also link the region with other localities in the country.
Stretching over 2.97 kilometers, the Vam Cong Bridge is designed with a total of six lanes, four reserved for automobiles and two for motorcycles.
Construction started in September 2013, with investment totaling US$271 million, which was funded by South Korea’s ODA (official development assistance) and corresponding capital from the Vietnamese government.
The construction was first delayed in November 2017 after several fractures were found on the steel girders at the top of several abutments.
The repair work was expected to be finished in 2018 so that the bridge could be put into operation later the same year.
But even the repair faced challenges, forcing contractors to delay its inauguration until this month.
According to a report on Tuoi Tre