Include the Vung Tau - Can Gio sea bridge in the planning.

The Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HoREA) has repeatedly submitted written proposals to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to include the Can Gio sea bridge connecting Can Gio District with Vung Tau City (Ba Ria-Vung Tau province) in the general planning for the construction of Ho Chi Minh City for the period 2021-2040, with a vision to 2060.

According to HoREA's plan, the bridge would be approximately 17 km long with a clearance of nearly 56m to allow international ships to enter and exit easily. Mr. Le Hoang Chau, Chairman of HoREA, affirmed that the lack of a sea bridge from Can Gio to Vung Tau would be a huge waste. The bridge would be a "connecting link" to complete the eastern coastal road. Currently, this road starts from Ham Tan (Binh Thuan) and ends in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, requiring vehicles to travel a considerable distance to reach Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, and Dong Nai (via National Highway 51 and the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay expressway to reach National Highway 1A). With this sea bridge, people in Ba Ria-Vung Tau could easily travel to Ho Chi Minh City via Can Gio.

Currently, Can Gio is connected to Vung Tau by sea ferry.

Engineer Vu Duc Thang has also researched and proposed a plan to form a Vung Tau - Can Gio road axis connecting Go Cong - My Tho. In this plan, the Vung Tau - Can Gio sea bridge section should be completed first, followed by the Soai Rap bridge to Go Cong to create a shorter shortcut for the entire transportation network. According to him, the need for resource exchange between Can Gio and other provinces, and the resulting population growth, will increase, leading to the necessity of opening more bridges and roads along new transportation axes. To revitalize Can Gio's position, the new route from Can Gio must develop in the direction of passing through Ganh Rai Bay to Vung Tau and across the Soai Rap River to Go Cong - My Tho. This new route would follow the edge of the mangrove forest to protect the environment, maintain ecological balance, and promote sustainable development. Furthermore, along the long-distance ocean shipping route between Europe and Asia via the East Sea and Vietnamese islands, the Vung Tau - Can Gio sea area still possesses significant untapped potential for providing maritime services and has not yet become a destination for relaxation, tourism, recreation, and cultural exchange. It is evident that the transportation routes connecting coastal economic and population centers still hold significant potential and opportunities for development. Specifically, My Tho is a crucial transportation hub, a key node on the transportation network from the West to the East. All major resources flowing east-west by rail, road, and river converge at My Tho. However, these resources must then disperse. To date, the routes designed to alleviate this convergence in My Tho have been circuitous, involving large ring roads that are costly in terms of logistics and wasteful of energy and time. Meanwhile, Can Gio is limited by its muddy river environment and lack of inter-regional transportation, and urgently needs the development of a seaport and urbanization. If Ho Chi Minh City wants to find a route to Vung Tau with higher traffic volume, it must open a new route along the Can Gio mangrove forest and then across the sea to Vung Tau. Alternatively, the shortest route could be found via roads along the left bank of the Soai Rap River to Binh Khanh and the right bank to Hiep Phuoc. Furthermore, the Vung Tau, Long Hai, and Binh Chau areas are famous ideal tourist and resort destinations attracting both domestic and international tourists. With the development of economic, service, and international trade activities, they will become a particularly large urban area. "Building a sea bridge to create a connecting road between My Tho and Can Gio is a bold and groundbreaking project, but it has significant economic benefits and far-reaching impacts on the development of the chain of coastal economic centers in the south. Therefore, I propose that it be updated and added to the transportation and urban planning, and that basic research and surveys be conducted soon to launch this project," suggested engineer Vu Duc Thang.

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