HCMC – Tang Long Bridge in Thu Duc City can only be completed in 2024, instead of 2019 as earlier planned, due to site clearance bottlenecks.

The HCMC Department of Transport confirmed the rescheduling in a document sent to the Thu Duc City People’s Committee and the Transportation Works Construction Investment Project Management Authority of Ho Chi Minh City after a review of the project.

Work on the bridge on La Xuan Oanh Street began in late 2017 and was then scheduled to be completed within two years. However, in August 2019, when the project was 30% complete, construction work was suspended due to problems with site clearance.

Some 43 households in an area of over 26,000 square meters are affected by site clearance, including five households that have to be completely relocated.

The total investment capital of the project has increased from VND450 billion to VND688 billion. Of which, site clearance and technical infrastructure relocation costs, originally estimated at VND99.5 billion, will now rise to VND348 billion.

According to the Thu Duc City People’s Committee, the compensation for site clearance will be completed by this year to prepare land for the investor early next year.

The bridge is designed to have four lanes for vehicles and sidewalks, with a total length of 800 meters, of which the bridge deck is 231 meters long and 23 meters wide. Tang Long Bridge is one of the four bridges lagging behind schedule due to site clearance bottlenecks; the three others are the Nam Ly, Ong Nhieu and Ong Bon bridges.