Since June 2023, hundreds of Trungnam engineers and workers have driven the first drilled piles into the bed of the Thi Vai River, where tidal waters meet at the boundary between Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai with a single mandate: build the bridge that millions of tons of cargo and millions of vehicles have been waiting for, day after day.
Today, as of June 2026, more than 90% of construction volume has been completed. The side-span closure is imminent.
Why is the entire Southern Economic Zone waiting for Phuoc An Bridge?
Phuoc An Bridge is the most strategically significant connectivity axis in Southeast Vietnam today, linking the Cai Mep – Thi Vai Port cluster directly with the Ben Luc – Long Thanh Expressway, while opening a seamless logistics corridor to Long Thanh Airport and the region's major distribution hubs.
Before this bridge, cargo moving from the Mekong Delta to Cai Mep Port had to loop through central Ho Chi Minh City — stuck in traffic, absorbing mounting transport costs. National Highway 51, the sole artery serving the port, was perpetually overloaded. Every hour of gridlock meant hundreds of billions of dong in logistics costs evaporating into thin air.
Phuoc An Bridge is the answer to that problem.
Project Technical Specifications
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Category
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Specification
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Total route length
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4,378.34 m
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Bridge section
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3,514 m
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Main span (Extradosed)
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137.5 m + 250 m + 137.5 m
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Main bridge width
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27 m
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Number of lanes
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6 lanes (4 motorized + 2 mixed)
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Design speed
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70 km/h
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Vertical navigation clearance
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55 m
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Horizontal navigation clearance
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135 m
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Vessel capacity
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30,000 DWT
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Total investment
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~VND 4,900 billion
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Commencement
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June 2023
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Expected completion
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May 2027
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Notable distinction: The 250 m main span is the longest Extradosed span in Southeast Asia. Phuoc An Bridge is also among the top three bridges with the greatest vertical clearance in Vietnam today.
Trungnam E&C holds the most critical package
Of the five construction packages in the Phuoc An Bridge project, the Trungnam E&C – Trung Chinh Joint Name was awarded Package XL39 — the main Extradosed cable-stayed bridge section spanning from pylon T37 to T40, the technical heart of the entire structure.
This is the most technically demanding package on the project, combining balanced cantilever casting technology with a load-bearing structure mounted above the form traveler system. The two pylons, rising approximately 119 m and shaped in flowing curves resembling a "flame" and a "rice grain", are not merely architectural statements — they represent an engineering challenge that required the technical team to continuously redesign the form traveler system to adapt to the pylons' constantly changing geometry throughout construction.
The Journey From First Pile to the Threshold of Closure
June 2023 — Commencement. The first D2000 bored piles are sunk into the Thi Vai riverbed.
September 2025 — A defining milestone: the first cable bundle tensioning ceremony is held before the project management board and all involved parties. Three hundred engineers and workers — many of whom have been with the project since day one — make no effort to hide their pride. This is the moment the "abstract blueprint" begins to take real shape against the open sky above the Thi Vai River.
May 2026 — All 30 of 30 main beam blocks completed. Overall progress is running 6 months ahead of the original schedule.
Late June 2026 — Side-span closure at pylon T38: the moment two outstretched arms of the bridge meet.
July 2026 — Main span closure across the Thi Vai River is expected — the historic milestone of the entire project.
Source: vnexpress.net
What Will Phuoc An Bridge Change?
When complete, Phuoc An Bridge is recognized as the logistics backbone of the Southern Key Economic Zone:
For cargo and logistics: The route from the Mekong Delta to Cai Mep – Thi Vai Port no longer requires a detour through central Ho Chi Minh City. Transit times are cut significantly — reducing logistics costs and strengthening the competitiveness of Vietnamese exports on the world stage.
For the port sector: The Cai Mep – Thi Vai Port cluster, already handling some of the world's largest container vessels, gains a direct overland corridor connecting Vietnam's deepest deep-water port complex to the national expressway network.
For the Southeast Vietnam region: The Ho Chi Minh City – Dong Nai – Long Thanh connectivity axis is completed, catalyzing development across industrial zones, logistics parks, and urban corridors along the new route.
For millions of people: No more chronic gridlock on National Highway 51. No more long-haul journeys stretched by hours because a single, overloaded road has no alternative.
Phuoc An Bridge is a nationally prioritized traffic infrastructure project, with the Cai Mep – Thi Vai Port Zone Traffic Project Management Board as the project owner. Trungnam E&C - a member of Trungnam — is the contractor responsible for the main Extradosed bridge section.