Traffic opens the way, Ben Tre speeds up investment attraction

Rach Mieu 2 Bridge project has completed nearly 90% of the volume and is expected to be operational on September 2nd (Photo: Thach Thao)

Many transportation projects are being accelerated and are about to be completed.

It is expected that the traffic congestion in Ben Tre will gradually be resolved in the next few months, when the Rach Mieu 2 Bridge Construction Project is speeding up to put it into operation in time for the upcoming National Day on September 2, 2025.

According to the Department of Construction of Ben Tre, the progress of the Rach Mieu 2 Bridge Project (connecting Ben Tre and Tien Giang across the Tien River) has a total investment of VND 6,810.11 billion, a total route length of 17.6 km; project implementation period 2021-2026. Construction of 6/6 construction packages is underway, with the total output value of the contracts under construction reaching VND 2,797/3,302.882 billion, reaching nearly 90%.

Along with the sub-project of site clearance for Rach Mieu 2 bridge (the Project Management Board for Investment and Construction of Traffic Works is the investor): completion of the Project of the Access Road to Rach Mieu 2 bridge. The total investment of the project is 1,157.729 billion VND, including: Package No. 1 (located in Chau Thanh district, including Ba Lai bridge, Tam Son bridge, the value of the construction package is 283.825 billion VND): the estimated implementation volume is 90%. Package No. 2 (located in Ben Tre city, including Song Ma bridge, the value of the construction package is 245.990 billion VND): the estimated implementation volume is 88%. Site clearance work is basically completed and the entire route has been handed over to the investor.

Ben Tre speeds up traffic infrastructure

Rach Mieu 2 Bridge is expected to be completed on September 2, 2025, removing the bottleneck connecting with Tien Giang. A series of large projects are being implemented simultaneously: Ba Lai 8 Bridge, Cua Dai Bridge, Co Chien 2 Bridge, Dinh Khao Bridge. Coastal routes and waterways are being promoted, supporting logistics in the whole region, with a total investment capital of nearly 29,000 billion VND in the 2020-2025 period. The province is proactively expanding connections to Ho Chi Minh City and Vinh Long , creating new development momentum.

Coastal road route with Cua Dai Bridge Project: Up to now, Ben Tre Provincial People's Committee has proposed the project in Document No. 1890/TTr-UBND, dated March 25, 2025, on the proposal to invest in the construction of Cua Dai Bridge on the coastal road route connecting Ben Tre province with Tien Giang province.

The Ba Lai 8 bridge project and the road section have a total investment of 2,255 billion VND and are focusing on construction and speeding up progress.

Co Chien 2 Bridge Project connecting Ben Tre Province and Tra Vinh Province: Tra Vinh Province has invited relevant units to meet to give opinions on the appraisal of the Investment Proposal Report for the Co Chien 2 Bridge Construction Project on March 14, 2025.

Dinh Khao Bridge Project (Vinh Long Provincial People's Committee is the project investment management agency according to Decision No. 216/QD-TTg, dated March 2, 2024): Ben Tre People's Council issued Resolution No. 06/NQ-HDND, dated February 19, 2025 on providing comments on the impact of project implementation to supplement the Feasibility Study Report. On March 31, 2025, Ben Tre Department of Construction provided comments on the draft Submission and Decision, and sent members to the Steering Committee for implementing this project.

Regarding the Project under the Personal Data Protection Personnel Program (DPO): The Provincial People's Committee has reviewed and completed the project proposal in Submission No. 1793/TTr-UBND, dated March 21, 2025 on reviewing and completing the proposal for the Project to build a coastal road connecting Ben Tre province with Tien Giang and Tra Vinh provinces (Project under the DPO Program).

Regarding the Co Chien 2 Bridge Project connecting Ben Tre and Tra Vinh provinces, Tra Vinh province has invited relevant units to meet to give their opinions on the appraisal of the Investment Proposal Report for the Co Chien 2 Bridge Construction Project on March 14, 2025. Regarding the Dinh Khao Bridge Project (the People's Committee of Vinh Long province is the project investment management agency according to Decision No. 216/QD-TTg, dated March 2, 2024), the Ben Tre People's Council has issued Resolution No. 06/NQ-HDND, dated February 19, 2025 on giving opinions on the impact of project implementation to supplement the Feasibility Study Report. On March 31, 2025, the Ben Tre Department of Construction contributed opinions on the draft Submission and Decision, the Project Appraisal and Examination Plan at the request of the Department of Finance of Vinh Long province; At the same time, send members to participate in the Steering Committee to implement this project.

Developing waterways for logistics in the new provincial space

Notably, the project of dredging and product recovery on the Ham Luong River. The Department of Construction has advised and reported to the Ben Tre People's Committee on the implementation policy, acceptance and implementation of the project according to regulations. Currently, the Department of Construction is advising on the implementation of the next steps.

The Provincial Traffic Construction Investment Project Management Board is implementing important projects of the province, invested by the Board: the road from Giao Long port to Phu Thuan Industrial Park (DT.DK.07), with a total investment of 640 billion VND. The project is under construction, with specific progress: Package 01 is submitting for adjustment of investment policy; Package 02 with a value of 182.519 billion VND, the construction volume is estimated at 76%; Package 03 with a value of 119.678 billion VND, the construction volume is estimated at 60%. The Phuoc My Trung bypass project has been completed and handed over to the management unit, and has been submitted for appraisal of the project's final settlement.

Project to dredge Tien River (Cua Dai) channel, from Binh Thang estuary to Thua My estuary, Binh Dai district: implementing the direction of the Provincial People's Committee in Official Dispatch No. 96/UBND-TCDT, dated January 6, 2025 on implementing and advising on dredging projects of inland waterways combined with product recovery. Based on Decree No. 57/2024/ND-CP, dated May 20, 2024 of the Government and the implementation guidance document in Official Dispatch No. 3801/CĐTND-QLKCHT, dated December 18, 2024 of the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration, the Department of Construction has submitted Document No. 1250/TTr-SXD, dated April 9, 2025 (on the policy of continuing to implement dredging projects of inland waterways combined with product recovery) to the Provincial People's Committee for consideration.

Projects invested by the Waterway Project Management Board are being implemented in the province including:

Construction of Mo Cay bridge under the Project to increase clearance of road bridges crossing national inland waterways - phase 1 (Southern region); sub-project to clear the ground for Mo Cay bridge.

Dredging Cho Lach canal, building embankments to protect the banks, building Cho Lach 2 bridge, adding a system of waterway signs, drainage culverts and residential roads along Cho Lach canal under the Southern Region Waterway and Logistics Corridor Development Project. The project is waiting for the signing of an agreement and has not been implemented yet.

In the area, the province is implementing key works and projects including: Rach Mieu 2 Bridge Project; Road connecting Rach Mieu 2 Bridge; Road combining dike to prevent saltwater intrusion between Mo Cay Nam and Thanh Phu districts (DH.17 project, phase 2); Project to build dike to prevent saltwater intrusion combined with road connecting coastal districts Binh Dai - Ba Tri - Thanh Phu; Road from Giao Long Port to Phu Thuan Industrial Park (DT.DK.07); Ba Lai 8 Bridge Project on the coastal road.

Statistics on capital allocation plans for projects show that the total investment capital in the 2020-2025 period is VND 28,967 billion. Of which, completed and basically completed projects are about VND 4,148 billion; projects under construction and about to be constructed are VND 11,884 billion; projects about to be invested are worth VND 12,935 billion.

The province has large rivers flowing into the East Sea through the main estuaries (Dai estuary, Ba Lai estuary, Ham Luong estuary, Co Chien estuary), upstream to Cambodia, connected with a dense system of canals, creating an advantage in developing waterway transport, irrigation systems, developing marine economy, garden economy, and trading goods with neighboring provinces. The centrally managed inland waterways passing through the province have 6 routes, 311.5 km long; the locally managed inland waterways have 190 routes, 909.25 km long.

In coastal localities, the projects to build a dike to prevent saltwater intrusion combined with a road connecting the coastal districts of Binh Dai - Ba Tri - Thanh Phu (phase 2) have a total investment of 569 billion VND. The estimated implementation volume is 92%, of which construction has been completed in Binh Dai district. The project to build a road combined with a dike to prevent saltwater intrusion between Mo Cay Nam and Thanh Phu districts (DH.17 project), with a total investment of 265 billion VND, is under construction. The North-South road project serving Phu Thuan industrial park and Phong Nam industrial cluster (DT.DK.08), with a total investment of about 250 billion VND (including package 1 worth 30.232 billion VND, package 2 worth 92.801 billion VND), has approved the adjustment of the investment policy, and is submitting for appraisal to adjust the feasibility study report. The project to upgrade the asphalt concrete pavement of DH.173 road, with a total estimated investment of 300 billion VND, has completed project approval and is awaiting capital allocation. The project to upgrade the asphalt concrete pavement of Ba Lai 6 bridge, with a total investment of 600 billion VND, has completed project approval and is implementing the next steps. The project to upgrade the asphalt concrete pavement of Rach Vong bridge, with a total investment of 329.849 billion VND, has been completed and handed over to the management unit in May 2024.

If the investment is deployed and the above projects are completed synchronously, it will create a new wind for waterway traffic of the Coconut Island, effectively serving waterway logistics in transporting goods, shortening distances, reducing time and costs for businesses when investing in Ben Tre.

Director of the Department of Construction of Ben Tre province, Mr. Cao Minh Duc, said: The 11th Provincial Party Congress, term 2020-2025, determined: "Strive to build Ben Tre into a fairly developed province in the region by 2025 and the whole country by 2030". Determining that transportation goes first to pave the way for economic development and attract local investment, Ben Tre continues to coordinate with ministries, central branches, localities after the merger and related units to implement key transportation projects according to plan.

Along with economic projects, infrastructure expansion to the East according to the 2020-2025 plan, in the current orientation of expanding space and new vision, Ben Tre provincial leaders have focused on directing the industry to prepare conditions, actively and proactively, urgently adding to the orientation of developing a traffic system connecting to the center (the newly merged Vinh Long province) and strongly towards Ho Chi Minh City - the major economic center of the country, in order to both shorten time and costs for people, businesses and investors, and strengthen trade connections, exchange, and consumption of agricultural products easily and conveniently, creating a new driving force for the economy of the Coconut land to increasingly flourish, together with the whole country to develop in the new era.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/giao-thong-mo-loi-ben-tre-tang-toc-thu-hut-dau-tu-d309929.html