The consortium of Wilbur Smith Associates & WSP Finland and Yooshin Engineering Corporation has been chosen as consultant to design Cao Lanh Bridge and a road linking this bridge to Vam Cong Bridge. The consortium will also be responsible for overseeing the project execution, said Cuu Long Corporation for Investment, Development and Project Management of Infrastructure (Cuu Long CIPM), which is the owner of these three infrastructure projects.

The Ministry of Transport and Dong Thap Province’s authorities have agreed on directions of the two bridges.

Ngo Thinh Duc, deputy minister of transport, said that despite having these foreign firms as the consultant, Vietnamese consultants are still needed to map out the directions for Cao Lanh-Vam Cong road and the connection point between Vam Cong Bridge and Lo Te-Rach Soi road.

The ministry is preparing a tender to select contractors to implement the projects.

Vam Cong and Cao Lanh cable-stayed bridges and Cao Lanh-Vam Cong road projects are scheduled to be started late next year for completion in late 2016.

The total investment for these projects amounts to around VND16.417 trillion, which would be pooled from the Asian Development Bank, South Korea’s official development assistance (ODA), and loans from the Australian Government as well as the Vietnamese Government’s reciprocal capital.

Meanwhile, the 32.3-kilometer My Thuan-Can Tho Expressway, whose feasibility study has been completed, is in the progress of site clearance. Capital for this project will be taken from the state budget, domestic and foreign loans, and capital of investors.

This six-lane expressway, which will be kicked off next year at an estimated cost of over VND9.2 trillion, will link to HCMC-Trung Luong Expressway at National Highway 80 and to Can Tho Bridge’s linking road at Cha Va.