Ho Chi Minh City’s largest cable-stayed bridge across the Saigon River will open to traffic on Wednesday, four months before the four-year project’s deadline.

From September 9 onwards, vehicles will be allowed to go over the bridge that connects District 2 and District 7, said Nguyen Thanh Thai, director general of the Phu My Bridge Corporation.

The 2,000-meter-plus bridge, has been built at a cost of over VND2 trillion (US$112.26 million) under PPP (public-private partnerships) form.

The Phu My Bridge is expected to ease traffic flow between the Mekong Delta, HCMC, and the southeast region.

On Vietnam National Day (September 2), the East-West Highway segment running from its intersection with National Road 1A in Binh Chanh District to the Calmette Bridge in District 1 is expected to open after completion of the project’s first stage.

The 13-kilometer segment will help deal with traffic jams and halve the time needed to go from Binh Tan District to District 1. The journey will take 25 to 25 minutes at most, said Vuong Hoang Thanh, deputy director of the East West Highway and Water Environment Project.

The project, which was launched in 2005 and funded with Japanese official development assistance (ODA), is expected to be completed next month.

Reported by Mai Vong