Construction on the Ben Thuy II Bridge across the Lam river, linking the two central provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh, kicked off on March 14.

The bridge has a length of 2,940m and a width of 25m, with four lanes. It has an investment of 1,26 trillion VND (68 million USD), financed by Government bonds.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung stressed that the project would help raise the attractiveness and improve investment environment of the central northern region while contributing to the socio-economic development of the two provinces in particular and of the region in general.

It would also help ease overloaded traffic on National Highway 1A, he said.

The project was expected to be completed by 2012./.