The 18-kilometer, four lane Cua Dai Bridge will link ancient Hoi An Town and Duy Xuyen District when it is completed in 40 months’ time, Than Duc Nam, director general of the state-owned construction group Cienco No. 5, said at the groundbreaking ceremony.

Half of the investment comes from Quang Nam Province’s budget, and the other half is sponsored by the central government.

“With the bridge, it will take half an hour to go to Da Nang City by motorbike [from Duy Xuyen District] instead of nearly two hours via National Highway No.1A,” an official said.

Cua Dai Bridge is expected to set up a coastal tourism line, Da Nang – Hoi An – Duy Xuyen – Thang Binh – Tam Ky – Nui Thanh, to attract investment into tourism and infrastructure in the future, according to officials and experts.

“This is a historic bridge opening new territory for Quang Nam’s coastal eastern region,” Hoi An Town Chairman Le Van Giang said, highlighting the likelihood of coastal urban areas, industrials zones and new tourism sites appearing.

The bridge is part of 29 works under the province’s VND3.7-trillion ($207.59 million) project to relocate local residents and decrease damage from natural disasters along the coast, Quang Nam People’s Committee Chairman Le Minh Anh said.

The project targets 15 communes in the province’s eastern region where over 10,300 families have to move for the construction, Anh added.