Representatives from local authorities and relevant sectors at the ground breaking ceremony in HCM City. –  Photo baogiaothong.vn

HCM CITY (Biz Hub) – The People's Committees of HCM City and Binh Dương Province broke ground for a project to build a new railway bridge over the Sai Gon River this morning.

The new facility is located 12 metres on the lower section of the existing Binh Loi Bridge, which was built in 1902.

The new bridge will be 521m long and run parallel to the existing Binh Loi Bridge on Pham Van Dong Street, linking the Binh Thanh and Thu Duc districts.

It will replace the existing facility, which has seriously deteriorated. Its vertical clearance height is only 1.8 meters, so boats often get stuck under the bridge during high tide.

The new facility has a vertical clearance of seven metres and can allow trains to pass through at a speed of 100km per hour.

The new railway facility will connect the Trang Bom District in the southern province of Dong Nai Province to the Ho Hung railway station in HCM City.

The project also includes upgrading a 71km section of the Sai Gon River between Binh Loi Bridge and the Ben Suc Wharf in Binh Duong Province.

Construction for the project will cost about VND1.302 billion (over US$60 million).

According to the Transport Ministry, the investor will contribute VND172 billion to the project's capital; HCM City will contribute over VND156 billion for site clearance; while Binh Dương Province will provide non-interest loans of VND300 billion for the project.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony, the Deputy Minister for Transport, Nguyen Ngoc Dong, said the Transport Ministry had called for investment from the private sector into into road, railway and aviation projects.

The upgrading of the passage of Sài Gin River and the new Binh Loi Raiway Bridge will help clear the passage of the Sai Gon River, allowing large vessels to dock at ports along the River, and facilitate transportation in the Southeast Region of Viet Nam, said Dong.

This would be the first waterway transport project to be invested under the BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) mode, he added.

The investors for the project are part of a consortium that includes Green Urban Investment and Development JSC and STD Investment and Construction JSC. —VNS.