Rung Sac (Sac Forest) road, a new road linking HCMC
with the East Sea through coastal district Can Gio, was inaugurated on Saturday
after nine years of construction, feeding eco-tourism potential in the district
internationally recognized as a biosphere reserve.

The newly built Rung Sac road in HCMC’s Can Gio District is opened to traffic on Saturday, shorting travel time between the city center and the coastal district internationally recognized as a biosphere reserve. (Photo: SGT)

Huynh Cach Mang, chairman of Can Gio
District, said local government would continue calling for holiday and
environmental tourism investment including restaurant and hotel services. The
district now has 31 tourism projects, seven of which are operating.

Construction of the VND1.5 trillion
road began in 2002, stretching over 31 kilometers from Binh Khanh ferry to the
30-4 intersection. The road has six lanes and seven bridges across the canals
that crisscross Can Gio mangrove forest.

HCMC chairman Le Hoang Quan at the
inauguration ceremony urged related units to cooperate with the Transport
Ministry to build Binh Khanh Bridge to replace the ferry service. The city would
also upgrade roads connecting with Rung Sac road like Ly Nhon, An Thoi Dong, Tam
Thon Hiep and Rung Sac parallel road.

“Nha Be District needs to speed up
site clearance and hand over land to Saigon Water Corp. (Sawaco) to complete
water supply facilities for Can Gio before April 30, as well as water pipes to
families in local communes,” Quan was quoted by Phap Luat as saying.

Speaking at the inauguration
ceremony of the first phase on January 26, 2010, State President Nguyen Minh
Triet said the road was the city’s strategic gateway to the East Sea and would
help boost the social and economic development of not only Can Gio District but
also the city.

After the first phase, local
residents in the most remote district of the city no longer relied solely on
Binh Khanh ferry. The road cuts travel time to Can Thanh Township by a third to
40 minutes from an hour.

The road was constructed by
Voluntary Youth Public Service Co. Ltd. while Saigon Construction Quality
Control Co. was the supervision consultant. The district’s project construction
and investment management unit was the investor of the project.

A 600 hectare sea reclamation
project in Can Gio will restart in June with 100 hectares expected to complete
this year.

VietNamNet/SGT