Urgent Momentum on the Construction Site of the Hau River Bridge

The Century Project

The investment project to build Dai Ngai bridge on National Highway 60 connecting the provinces of Tra Vinh and Soc Trang is an important main transport route along the coast of the Mekong Delta provinces. The entire route has a length of over 15.14km, 5 intersections, and 7 bridges; of which, 8.7km is in Tra Vinh province and 6.5km is in Soc Trang province. The main construction is Dai Ngai 1 and 2 bridges with 4 lanes, and the initial investment phase has 2 lanes with a cross-sectional width of 12m, and a design speed of 80km/h.

Dai Ngai 2 bridge is 861m long, with a bridge cross-section width of 17.5m, and the main bridge is a cast-in-situ structure with a total length of 330m, scheduled for implementation from October 2023 to December 2025. The total investment capital of the project is up to 7,962 billion VND. According to the plan, the project started construction on October 15, 2023 and is expected to be completed in 2026.

According to Tran Van Lau, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Soc Trang province: This is a century project that the people of the Mekong Delta have been waiting for. After the completion of Dai Ngai bridge project, National Highway 60 will be completely connected and form a north-south corridor for the Mekong Delta region, reducing the distance by about 80km from Ho Chi Minh City to the provinces of Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, and Ca Mau. Thereby, it reduces the increasing traffic pressure on National Highway 1A, meeting the increasing transportation demand when industrial zones such as Dinh An, Tran De, Dai Ngai, An Nghiep, My Thanh… come into operation. At the same time, the project also enhances the ability to ensure national defense and security for the coastal area in the South.

Taking us to the actual site in the days approaching Tet, Mr. Nguyen Tai Manh, Director of the Joint Venture Management Board of the 4 contractors including Corporation No. 1 Construction Joint Stock Company, Truong Son Construction Investment Joint Stock Company, Dat Phuong Group Corporation Joint Stock Company, and Thuan An Construction Joint Stock Company, who are responsible for the Dai Ngai Bridge project, said: To meet the current progress, more than 300 engineers and workers of the 4 contractors have been divided into 3 shifts, 4 teams and have been working continuously for more than 3 months since the groundbreaking of the project in mid-October 2023.

Almost day and night, on the construction site of Dai Ngai Bridge 2, connecting the mainland with Long Phu district and Cu Lao Dung district of Soc Trang province, there are continuous shifts and teams of workers working day and night and strictly complying with labor safety regulations.

Urgency

Construction in the middle of the wide Hau river, with the flowing water swirling underneath, engineers and workers still cling to high columns to weld beams, connect pipes, poles to meet the pouring stage of deep concrete into the riverbed at depths of 60-70m. All shifts of workers are very urgent and professional. The sounds of waves, wind, mixed with the sound of welding machines, the collision of iron and steel, and the echoing of bored piles make the Hau riverine area seem to be “awakening”.

Thanks to the urgent implementation according to the guidance of Project Management Board 85 under the Ministry of Transport, up to now, after more than 3 months of construction, the Dai Ngai 2 bridge project has disbursed more than 220.3/1,543.19 billion VND (achieving 14.3%). Among them, the road section and works on the route have basically completed the work of leveling and excavation of organic matter (10.43km); completed the construction of public land embankment roads reaching 9.77/10.43km (94%). The bridge section including Dai Ngai 2 bridge and 5 bridges on the route has completed the construction of 2,560/2,560m (100%) of bored piles D2000; completed 4,355/7,150m (61%) of bored piles D1500; completed 1,725/5,770m (30%) of bored piles D1200…

According to Mr. Nguyen Tai Manh, after the implementation of the construction, representatives of Project Management Board 85 and the joint venture of the contractors have implemented construction in all categories on the site. Up to now, the bored pile construction progress has exceeded the initial plan, and the road part has also been constructed to ensure. However, the road section still faces common difficulties due to a shortage of sand sources for land reclamation in the Mekong Delta, so the progress is not guaranteed. The contractors also suggested that the People’s Committees of Tra Vinh and Soc Trang provinces come up with solutions to resolve the sand source shortage to ensure the project’s progress.

Despite the sun and wind, on the construction site of Dai Ngai Bridge in the days approaching Tet, the work atmosphere continues with a sense of urgency to complete some items ahead of schedule. Mr. Nguyen Tai Manh believed that with the progress ahead of schedule so far, the leadership has agreed for the officials and workers to take Tet holidays instead of working continuously during Tet so that they could return to their hometowns and reunite with their families for Tet. This also helps the workers to rest, recuperate their health, and increase their morale to continue their mission of “connecting joy” that the people of the provinces of Tra Vinh-Soc Trang and the entire Mekong Delta have been waiting for.

With a sense of urgency in construction, especially the construction progress of the package to construct Dai Ngai 2 bridge connecting the island communes of Cu Lao Dung district will soon be connected to the mainland by the end of 2025, towards completing Dai Ngai 1 bridge connecting Tra Vinh and Soc Trang provinces and completing the project according to the required schedule of the Government and the Ministry of Transport in 2026.