The WB official in a field trip to Tuyen Quang province. (Source: VNA)Tuyen Quang (VNA) - The World Bank is working with the Vietnamese Government on the second phase of a project to build suspension bridges in disadvantaged areas with a planned investment of 250 million USD, said Victoria Kwakwa, the WB’s Country Director for Vietnam.
The WB official joined Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Hong Truong in a field trip to the northern province of Tuyen Quang on November 11 to review the construction of suspension bridges there under the first phase of the project.
Kwakwa highlighted the role of the bridges in connecting communities and facilitating travel of local people in remote areas.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister Truong stated that local transport department needs to build management and maintenance procedures for the bridges to ensure traffic safety.
During the trip, they examined the necessity for a suspension bridge spanning Dong Chay-Ao Xanh area in Son Nam commune and checked the quality of Son Nam bridge and the progress of Muc Dom bridge.
Tuyen Quang has five new suspension bridges worth more than 33 billion VND (1.47 million USD) built under the project. At the same time, 132 existing bridges in the province need repair with estimated cost of 275 billion VND (12.27 million USD).
The WB has closely worked with Vietnamese Government in the transport sector. Some 4,000 bridges are expected to be built during 2015-2017, funded from the WB’s loans.
Statistics from the transport ministry indicate that there are about 1,950 suspension bridges in Vietnam. About 810 operational bridges - roughly 40 percent - have shown signs of erosion and rust. Up to 94 percent of them are located on roads connecting villages and communes.-VNA
